Hunting  at 

High  Altitudes 


The  Book  of  the 

.  and  Crockett  Club 


FRED  LOCKLEY 

RARE  WESTERN  BOOKS 


PORTLAND. 


BOOKS  OF  THE 
BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB 

Just  Published 

HUNTING  AT  HIGH  ALTITUDES 

Price,  $2.50  net,   postage  additional 

Previously  Published 
AMERICAN  BIG-GAME  HUNTING 
HUNTING  IN  MANY  LANDS 
TRAIL  AND  CAMP-FIRE 
AMERICAN   BIG    GAME   IN   ITS    HAUNTS 
Uniform  edition.     The  price  of  these 
four  books  is  $2.50  each,   and  they  will 
be  sent  postpaid. 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 
New  York  and  London 


COL.   WM.   D.   PICKETT. 


Hunting 

At  High  Altitudes 

tbc  BooR  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 


GEORGE  BIRD  ^GRINNELL 

EDITOR 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 

MCMXIII 


Copyright,   1913,  by 
Madison  Grant  and  George  Bird  Grinnell 


Bancroft  Ubmiy 


CONTENTS 

Page 
Preface    7 

Col.  Wm.  D.  Pickett 1 1 

Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter — 

1876 15 

Jj|  i877 46 

1878 80 

w^ 

1879 IQ6 

1880 157 

1881  .   186 

<i 

1882 207 

1883 229 

By  Colonel  Wm.  D.  Pickett. 

Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter     .     .   242 
NQ  By  George  Bird  Grinnell. 

In  the  Old  Rockies 295 

By  Daniel  M.  Barringer. 

Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains  314 
By  Geo.  L.  Harrison,  Jr. 
3 


Contents 

Page 
A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia  344 

By  Geo.  L.  Harrison,  Jr. 

The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska     .     .367 
By  Madison  Grant. 

Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 393 

By  General  Roger  D.  Williams. 

Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island     .     .     .  406 
By  Dr.  Charles  H.  Townsend. 

The  Game  Preservation  Committee     .     .     .421 

Brief  History  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  433 
By  the  Editor. 

Officers  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  .  .492 
Committees  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  493 
Report  of  Nominating  Committee  .  .  .  494 

Report  of  the  Treasurer 499 

Constitution  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  .  .500 
Rules  of  the  Executive  Committee  .  .  .  504 
List  of  Members  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  .  505 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
Col.  Wm.  D.  Pickett Frontispiece 

Facing  page 

Fort  Benton  in  1881 38 

Bull  Train  at  Fort  Benton 138 

Mule  Train  at  Fort  Benton 138 

Kirghiz  Falconers 202 

"Battlefield"  of  September  13,  1883   .     .     .   238 

Khudai  Khildi 250 

Ivan  with  Roebuck  Heads 266 

Crossing  a  Snow  Field 282 

Returning  from  a  Day  with  Ibex     ....   298 

Thian  Shan  Wapiti     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .314 

Crossing  a  Pass 330 

Pack  Bull— Tekkes  River 346 

5 


List  of  Illustrations 

Facing  Page 

Peninsula   Bear,    Captured  at  Moeller  Bay, 

Alaska 366 

Adult    Male    and    Female    Elephant    Seal, 

Guadalupe  Island 394 

Adult  Male  Elephant  Seal,  Guadalupe  Island  394 

South  End  of  Elephant  Seal  Rookery,  Guada- 
lupe Island 406 

Elephant  Seals  Nearly  Two   Years   Old  in 

the  New  York  Aquarium       .     .     .     .418 


PREFACE 

This  is  the  fifth  volume  of  the  books  of  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  the  last  one  having  been 
published  in  1904. 

The  Club  is  fortunate  in  having  for  the  volume 
the  chapters  which  treat  of  the  hunting  adventures 
of  Colonel  Wm.  D.  Pickett,  from  1876  to  1883. 
For  many  years  Colonel  Pickett  was  one  of  the 
vice-presidents  of  the  Club,  representing  Wyoming, 
and  has  had  an  experience  in  hunting  the  grizzly 
bear  greater  probably  than  that  of  any  man  who 
ever  lived.  A  keen  sportsman,  a  lover  of  outdoor 
life,  and  a  Southern  gentleman,  Colonel  Pickett 
represents  the  ideals  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club.  He  hunted  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  a 
time  when  people  there  were  few  and  game  was 
abundant.  The  day  of  the  trapper  had  passed, 
and  that  of  the  skin  hunter  was  just  beginning. 

As  indicated  by  its  title,  this  volume  deals 
chiefly  with  hunting  in  the  high  mountains.  Yet 
this  hunting  does  not  all  lie  close  to  timber  line. 

7 


Preface 

Mr.  Harrison's  narrative  dealing  with  the  great 
game  of  Rhodesia,  and  that  of  General  Roger  D. 
Williams,  about  the  introduced  deer  in  Cuba,  bring 
up  forms  of  sport  to  most  of  us  unknown. 

It  has  been  thought  well  to  reprint  here  the 
"Brief  History  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club," 
prepared  some  time  ago,  and  issued  separately. 

Madison  Grant's  article  on  the  wild  life  of 
Alaska,  written  some  years  ago,  has  been  brought 
down  to  date. 

The  Club  has  consistently  striven — and  with 
some  success — to  secure  the  establishment  of  game 
refuges  in  the  different  forest  reserves.  There  is 
great  promise  in  the  State  of  Arizona,  where, 
through  the  efforts  of  Charles  Sheldon  and  E.  W. 
Nelson,  much  popular  interest  in  this  subject  has 
been  awakened. 

A  matter  in  which  the  Club  may  feel  a  just  pride 
is  the  share  it  had  in  assisting  in  the  passage  of  the 
bill  to  place  migratory  birds  under  the  charge  of 
the  Federal  Government — a  measure  which  orig- 
inated with  one  of  its  own  members,  Hon.  George 
Shiras,  3d,  and  which  became  law  in  March,  1913. 

GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL. 

NEW  YORK,  July,  1913. 


Hunting 
At   High   Altitudes 


COL.  WM.  D.  PICKETT 

Colonel  Wm.  D.  Pickett  was  born  in  northern 
Alabama,  October  2,  1827.  His  parents,  George 
B.  and  Courtney  (Heron)  Pickett,  were  natives  of 
Virginia,  and  he  was  the  youngest  child.  When 
Wm.  Pickett  was  ten  years  old,  the  family  moved 
to  Kentucky,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated. 

While  engaged  as  chainman  in  a  party  of  land 
surveyors  on  the  northwestern  frontier  of  Texas, 
near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  McKinney,  in 
January,  1847,  the  call  was  sounded  for  volun- 
teers for  the  Mexican  War,  and  he  at  once  enlisted 
in  Captain  Fitzhugh's  Company  of  Bell's  Regi- 
ment of  Texas  Mounted  Volunteers  for  twelve 
months,  from  February  2,  1847.  Their  services 
not  being  needed  for  Mexico,  this  company  was 
assigned  to  the  protection  against  the  incursions  of 
the  Comanche  and  other  hostile  tribes,  then  very 
active,  of  about  one  hundred  miles  of  the  north- 
western frontier  of  Texas.  This  frontier  began  at 

ii 


Col.  Wm.  D.  Pickett 

Preston  on  Red  River  and  ended  at  a  'point  on  the 
south  fork  of  the  Trinity — near  the  present  site  of 
Fort  Worth. 

After  young  Pickett' s  discharge  from  the  service 
he  returned  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  entered  the 
profession  of  civil  engineering.  Serving  under 
such  distinguished  engineers  as  Sylvester  Welch 
and  Julius  W .  A dams ,  he  assisted  in  the  survey 
and  construction  of  the  several  systems  of  rail- 
roads of  central  Kentucky  until  the  spring  of  1855, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Memphis  £sf  Ohio 
R.  R.,  of  Tennessee,  as  principal  assistant  engineer 
to  Julius  W .  Adams,  Chief  Engineer.  After  about 
one  year's  service  in  the  survey  and  location  of  the 
upper  end  of  that  road,  Mr.  Adams  resigned,  and 
W.  D.  Pickett  succeeded  him  as  Chief  Engineer, 
and  as  such  he  finished  its  construction  to  Paris, 
Tennessee,  in  the  fall  of  1859. 

He  remained  in  the  service  of  the  Company 
until  the  latter  part  of  1860,  and  until  the  clouds  of 
impending  war  cast  their  shadows  over  the  land. 

In  the  conflict  which  followed,  he  cast  his  for- 
tunes with  his  home  State,  Tennessee,  and  except 
for  about  six  months'  service  in  the  State  Army, 
he  served  continuously  in  the  Confederate  Army 
from  about  April  i,  1861,  to  April  26,  1865, 
when  he  was  paroled  with  the  army  of  General 

12 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Joseph  E.  Johnston,  as  Colonel,  and  Assistant  In- 
spector-General of  W .  I.  Hardee's  Corps. 

During  1861  he  was  engaged  as  an  engineer  in 
the  location  and  construction  of  water  batteries 
between  Memphis  and  Columbus,  Kentucky.  On 
January  4,  1862,  he  was  transferred  to  the  staff  of 
Major  General  Hardee,  with  whom  he  served 
until  the  end  came.  About  this  time,  certain  Con- 
federate  detached  forces  were  formed,  as  the  Con- 
federate <(Army  of  Tennessee,"  consisting  of  two 
to  three  corps  of  two  to  four  divisions  each,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  General  W .  I.  Hardee 
commanded  one  of  these  corps,  which  won  dis- 
tinguished prominence  in  all  the  battles  that  fol- 
lowed: Shiloh,  Perryville,  Murfreesboro,  Mission- 
ary Ridge — all  the  battles  of  the  famous  "Dalton 
to  Atlanta"  campaign,  including  the  battles  of 
"July  20th"  and  (<July  22d"  around  Atlanta,  and 
the  two  days'  fight  at  Jonesboro,  Ga.,  ending  in 
the  evacuation  of  Atlanta  on  September  2,  1863. 

In  all  the  battle  reports  in  which  this  corps  were 
engaged,  W .  D.  Pickett  has  honorable  mention 
from  his  chief. 

In  1867  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  his  pro- 
fession as  civil  engineer,  and  was  engaged,  by  the 
owners  of  the  franchise  of  the  Memphis  6f  Ohio 
R.  R.,  in  its  reconstruction  and  rehabilitation  after 

13 


Col.  Wm.  D.  Pickett 

the  ravages  of  war,  until  the  latter  part  of  1873, 
when  he  resigned  to  take  a  needed  rest. 

After  some  years  of  recreation  the  voice  from 
the  Western  wilds  so  persistently  called  that  about 
July  21,  18^6,  he  found  himself  on  a  steamer,  at 
Bismarck,  Dakota,  bound  for  the  headwaters  of  the 
great  Missouri.  He  spent  some  years  traveling 
and  hunting  in  a  country  then  almost  unknown,  and 
it  is  the  adventures  of  those  years,  beginning  with 
1876  and  closing  with  1883,  that  are  described  in 
the  following  chapters.  In  1883  Colonel  Pickett, 
as  will  be  shown  in  his  story,  took  up  land  on  the 
Grey  Bull  River,  and  for  a  long  time  held  a  ranch 
there  devoted  to  raising  of  thoroughbred  Hereford 
cattle. 

Colonel  Pickett  twice  represented  Fremont 
County,  Wyo.,  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  was 
State  Senator  from  Big  Horn  County,  in  the 
organization  of  which  he  was  prominent.  He  has 
always  been  a  devoted  Democrat  in  politics.  Since 
the  year  1853  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  a  member  of  the 
American  Association  of  Political  and  Social 
Science  and  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science.  He  has  lived  a  long, 
honorable  and  useful  life. 


MEMORIES   OF  A   BEAR   HUNTER 

On  Friday,  July  14,  1876,  I  left  Minneapolis, 
for  Bismarck,  Dakota,  and  the  country  of  the 
Upper  Missouri,  and  the  next  evening  reached 
Fargo,  the  crossing  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North, 
Here  I  met  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Saskatchewan, 
on  the  way  to  his  bishopric  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritories. His  residence,  600  miles  west  of  Fort 
Garry,  or  Winnipeg,  covered  a  very  large  district. 
The  winter  before  he  had  traveled  two  thousand 
miles  by  dog-train,  his  team  consisting  of  three  or 
four  dogs,  which  covered  about  forty  miles  a  day. 
He  camped  where  night  found  him,  sleeping  on 
the  snow.  His  food  three  times  a  day  was  pem- 
mican,  tea  and  frying-pan  bread. 

On  Tuesday  morning  I  left  for  Bismarck,  about 
two  hundred  miles  distant,  reaching  there  that 
night.  The  plain  over  which  we  passed  was  gen- 
erally level,  and  the  country  looked  bald,  gloomy 
and  grand,  without  a  tree,  except  on  the  streams. 
In  this  loneliness  and  monotony  it  reminded  me  of 
the  grand  prairie  west  of  the  Cross  Timbers  of 

is 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

northwestern  Texas.  During  the  day  no  settle- 
ments nor  habitations  were  seen,  except  an  occa- 
sional section  house  for  the  railroad  hands. 

Bismarck,  however,  was  full  of  people,  brought 
there  by  the  gold  excitement  in  the  Blackhills.  At 
that  time  there  were  about  five  hundred  people  in 
the  village,  which  was  on  the  bluff,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  Missouri  and  four  miles  from 
Fort  Abraham  Lincoln1  on  the  opposite  side. 

It  was  less  than  a  month  before  this  that  the 
Seventh  Cavalry,  U.  S.  A.,  under  command  of 
Lieut.-Col.  Geo.  A.  Custer,  had  been  badly  de- 
feated on  the  Little  Big  Horn  River,  Montana, 
seven  of  its  companies  surrounded  by  Sioux  and 
Cheyennes,  and  most  of  the  men  killed.2  A 
division  of  the  regiment  under  Major  Reno  took 
refuge  on  a  hill-top,  was  joined  by  Captain  Ben- 
teen  and  by  the  pack-train  with  ammunition  under 
Captain  MacDougal.  A  little  later  General  Terry 
came  up  with  a  large  force  of  men,  the  Indians 
retired,  and  separating  into  smaller  bands,  dis- 
appeared. It  was  supposed  they  were  arranging 
to  cross  the  line  into  Canada.  This  report  caused 
steamboat  travel  on  the  river  to  be  regarded  as 
somewhat  hazardous.  However,  on  the  evening 


numbers   which   follow   in   the   text,   refer  to   the 
Chapter  of  Notes  by  the  Editor. 

16 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

of  July  2i,I  boarded  the  steamer  Western  for  the 
Upper  Missouri  River,  sleeping  on  board,  for,  as 
the  steamboats  did  not  commonly  run  at  night,  the 
Western  was  not  to  start  until  early  next  morning.3 
The  mosquitoes  here  were  very  numerous,  vora- 
cious and  troublesome.  However,  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  night,  the  weather  turned  cool,  and  this, 
with  the  motion  of  the  boat,  which  started  at 
seven,  gave  some  relief. 

The  immediate  bottom  of  the  Missouri  here  does 
not  differ  greatly  from  that  of  the  Lower  Missouri, 
or  the  Mississippi  below  Cairo.  Just  back  of  the 
timbered  bluffs,  however,  the  ground  rises  in  high 
hills,  often  abrupt  and  precipitous.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  we  saw  two  antelope,  and  at  midnight 
came  to  the  site  of  Old  Fort  Clark,  and  there  tied 
up  for  the  night.  At  2  o'clock  the  next  day  we 
reached  Fort  Stevenson,4  a  two-company  military 
post  in  the  bottom  between  the  highlands  and  the 
river.  In  the  evening  we  reached  Fort  Berthold,5 
said  to  have  been  established  by  a  Frenchman  of 
that  name,  where  lived  the  Arikara6  Indians,  who 
at  this  time  were  occupying  lodges  made  of  canvas. 
Near  the  fort  was  their  burial  ground,  where  the 
bodies  were  placed  on  scaffolds  supported  by  poles, 
and  from  every  grave  fluttered  something  which 
looked  like  flags,  but  which  really  were  offerings 

17 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

of  calico.  These  Indians  are  said  to  be  most 
friendly  to  the  whites,  having  long  been  at  peace 
with  them. 

During  the  night  of  July  24  the  steamboat  lay 
all  night  at  a  woody ard  above  Berthold.  An  early 
start  was  made  next  morning,  and  about  9  o'clock 
a  war  party  of  twenty  Indians  appeared  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river.  When  they  appeared  on 
the  hills  in  the  distance,  most  of  us  thought  they 
were  buffalo,  but  my  field  glasses  soon  corrected 
this  impression.  A  few  of  them  appeared  on  the 
cliffs  above  the  boat  and  shouted  salutations  to  us, 
waving  a  flag,  but  the  most  of  them  kept  back  out 
of  sight.  As  they  moved  toward  the  river,  and 
when  they  appeared  riding  along  the  bluff,  300  feet 
above  the  steamboat,  it  was  supposed  they  intended 
to  fire  into  the  boat,  and  there  was  a  scampering 
of  the  passengers  from  the  decks.  They  were  elab- 
orately painted  and  were  evidently  a  war  party. 

A  rumor  was  current  at  Berthold  that  General 
Terry  had  had  a  battle  with  the  Sioux  on  the  Yel- 
lowstone River,  and  had  beaten  them. 

During  the  morning  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Missouri  River.  Since  leaving  Bismarck, 
the  weather  had  been  pleasant.  There  had  been 
some  cloudy  weather,  but  no  rain.  The  hills 
among  which  we  were  constantly  traveling  were 

18 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

often  completely  bare  of  vegetation.  At  a  wood- 
yard  where  we  stopped,  we  found  half  a  dozen 
Gros  Ventres  Indians,7  who  reported  a  camp  of 
Standing  Rock  Sioux  Indians  on  a  hunt  only  a  few 
miles  away.  Many  of  these  Indians  were  armed 
with  Springfield  needle  guns  and  Spencer  rifles. 
From  time  to  time  they  received  runners  from  Sit- 
ting Bull,  and  the  report  was  that  Terry  was  mov- 
ing against  the  Sioux  and  pressing  them. 

Here  for  the  first  time  I  saw  one  of  the  Indian 
bullboats.8  It  was  nothing  more  than  a  buffalo 
hide  stretched  by  willow  twigs  about  an  inch  in 
diameter  into  the  shape  of  a  large,  but  quite  deep, 
bowl.  At  the  top  it  was  about  four  feet  across. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  July  25,  a  few  buffalo 
were  reported  in  the  hills.  They  were  seen  by  a 
number  of  people,  for  here  the  mosquitoes  were  as 
bad  as  at  Bismarck,  and  all  the  passengers  sat  up 
and  fought  mosquitoes  all  night.  During  the  morn- 
ing we  passed  a  band  of  eighteen  lodges  of  Sioux 
Indians,  who  were  crossing  to  the  north  side  of  the 
river.  They  declared  that  they  were  very  hungry 
and  seemed  anxious  to  stop  the  boat.  Some  of  the 
passengers  thought  them  hostile,  but  they  made  no 
offensive  demonstration.  The  men  seemed  large 
and  athletic,  and  were  clad  in  blankets  and  breech 
clouts'. 

19 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  woodyard9  passed  to-day  was  on  the  de- 
fensive, for  here  an  Indian  had  recently  been  killed 
by  one  of  the  choppers.  A  party  of  Indians  were 
seen  in  the  act  of  creeping  up  to  another  wood- 
chopper,  and  just  as  one  of  them  was  about  to 
shoot  at  him,  one  of  his  fellows  shot  the  Indian. 
The  others  scampered  off,  and  since  then  have 
more  than  once  attempted  to  kill  the  keeper  of  the 
woodyard. 

About  6  o'clock  we  reached  Fort  Buford,10 
where  we  discharged  much  freight  and  live  stock 
for  the  Yellowstone  Expedition  under  Gen.  Terry. 
Buford  was  an  eight  company  post,  pleasantly  sit- 
uated on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  in  an  extensive 
plain,  with  a  range  of  hills  a  mile  to  the  rear.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  about  a  hundred  men. 

For  a  hundred  miles  above  Buford  the  country 
bordering  the  river  is  not  so  broken,  and  sometimes 
broad  valleys  with  a  few  cottonwood  trees  and 
covered  with  fine  grass,  come  down  toward  the 
river.  In  some  places  it  almost  resembles  a  Ken- 
tucky bluegrass  woodland. 

We  reached  Wolf  Point  at  7  o'clock  that  night, 
and  found  here  a  large  band  of  Sioux  Indians. 
These  were  of  the  northernmost  group  of  the 
Sioux,  known  as  the  Assiniboine.11  They  had  just 
returned  from  a  buffalo  hunt  sixty  miles  to  the 

20 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

southwest,  where  they  killed  370  buffalo.  Deer 
and  elk  were  reported  plenty. 

My  room  mate  was  Major  Mitchell,12  of 
Quincy,  111.  He  was  the  Indian  agent  for  all  the 
Crow,  Blackfoot,  Gros  Ventres  and  Sioux  Indians 
living  between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  British 
line,  and  from  Fort  Union  w'est  to  the  Marias 
River.  He  was  a  pleasant  fellow  and  seemed  to 
like  me,  and  when  he  invited  me  to  stop  with  him 
at  Fort  Peck  and  make  a  hunt  for  buffalo*  I  deter- 
mined to  accept.  It  was  to  this  agency  that  Sitting 
Bull  and  a  part  of  the  Sioux  belonged,  who  were 
now  fighting  the  troops  on  the  Little  Big  Horn 
River. 

When  we  reached  Fort  Peck  in  the  evening,  I 
found  a  stockade  of  two  or  three  acres  in  extent. 
It  was  made  of  cotton  wood  trees  twelve  feet  long 
and  ten  inches  in  diameter,  set  on  end,  which  would 
make  a  very  good  defense  against  rifles,  but  im- 
mediately in  the  rear  of  the  fort  was  a  range  of 
hills  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  this  commanded 
the  post.  Within  the  stockade  stood  comfortable 
log  huts,  with  sod  roofs,  yet  there  were  only  ten 
or  twelve  men  to  man  the  fort,  and  any  reasonably 
large  force  could  capture  it  in  a  short  time. 

For  a  day  or  two  now  it  had  been  very  hot,  a  dry 
parching  wind  blowing  from  the  south.  I  had  been 

21 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

troubled  by  illness  since  leaving  Fargo  and  this 
grew  worse  daily,  so  that  I  was  feeling  quite  badly 
and  was  in  no  condition  to  move  about  much. 

The  garrison  of  the  little  fort  was  much  alarmed 
about  hostile  Indians  reported  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  indeed  the  smoke  of  a  camp  was  visible 
in  the  southwest,  a  few  miles  distant.  The  day 
before  a  Hunkpapa  Sioux  reported  from  the  hostile 
camp  on  Tongue  River,  riding  a  gray  horse 
branded  "C  Company,  yth  Cavalry."  He  told 
Major  Mitchell  that  he  had  reached  the  hostile 
camp  after  the  fight  was  over,  and  that  he  had 
traded  for  the  horse,  but  to  others  he  said  that 
he  was  in  the  fight,  and  this  no  doubt  was  true.  On 
being  offered  some  flour  he  refused  to  take  it  unless 
sugar  also  was  given  him.  He  asked  for  clothing, 
and  this  also  was  given  him,  for  Major  Mitchell 
wished  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  as  perhaps  there 
might  be  hostiles  in  the  neighborhood. 

Early  in  August  I  was  still  quite  ill.  A  general 
feeling  of  uneasiness  pervaded  the  fort  and  there 
were  occasional  reports  that  hostile  bands  were 
approaching  to  attack  it.  On  the  second  of  the 
month,  twelve  more  Hunkpapa  arrived  from  the 
hostile  camp,  and  two  of  them  were  riding  horses 
branded  "E  Company,  yth  Cavalry."  One  had  a 
Colt's  revolver  and  a  part  of  a  surgeon's  case 

22 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

of  instruments.  They  had  three  more  cavalry 
horses  in  their  bunch.  Later  the  same  day  another 
band  appeared  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  but 
suddenly  decamped,  because  they  believed  that  the 
whites  were  about  to  fire  on  them. 

All  these  Indians  talked  as  if  they  did  not  wish 
for  war,  and  Medicine  Cloud  professed  to  have 
been  sent  by  Sitting  Bull  to  ask  for  peace.  They 
said  that  they  would  not  fight  the  soldiers  unless 
attacked,  but  if  attacked,  would  defend  them- 
selves. All  wished  to  buy  ammunition. 

The  Indians  who  Were  coming  in  reported  other 
Indians  on  the  way  from  Sitting  Bull,  and  no  one 
knew  what  this  scattering  meant.  Some  believed 
the  Indians  were  trying  to  purchase  ammunition  to 
take  back  to  the  hostile  camp  on  Tongue  River, 
while  others  thought  that  Sitting  Bull's  force  was 
deserting  him  on  account  of  the  number  of  troops 
being  concentrated  against  him. 

Believing  that  there  was  reason  for  alarm,  I 
advised  that  a  new  block  house,  already  begun  in 
front  of  the  stockade,  be  finished  at  once  and 
stocked  with  ammunition  and  provisions,  and  that 
if  seriously  threatened  we  should  all  retire  into  the 
block  house  and  burn  everything  in  the  stockade. 
Major  Mitchell  declared  that  he  would  do  this  at 
once. 

23 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

During  all  this  time  there  was  a  camp  of  four  or 
iive  hundred  Indians  only  a  short  distance  from  the 
agency.  It  was  occupied  by  old  men,  women  and 
children,  the  families  of  the  actively  hostile  young 
men  who  were  with  Sitting  Bull  fighting  the 
soldiers,  while  these  non-combatants  were  being  fed 
and  cared  for  by  the  Government.  The  warriors 
recently  returned  from  the  hostile  camp,  thirty  to 
fifty  in  number,  and  bringing  with  them  the  spoils 
of  the  fight  in  the  shape  of  cavalry  horses,  arms 
and  other  plunder,  were  going  directly  to  this 
camp. 

One  day  word  was  brought  to  the  agency  that  a 
war  dance  would  be  held  at  the  camp  that  night. 
The  affair  was  genuine,  the  participants  having  just 
returned  from  the  slaughter  of  a  part  of  Custer's 
regiment.  During  the  previous  winter  I  had  at- 
tended a  war  dance  by  a  band  of  Chippewa  In- 
dians, at  Vermillion  Bay,  Minnesota,  and  I  was 
curious  to  see  the  difference  between  this  dance  as 
performed  by  tame  Indians  and  by  these  thor- 
oughly savage  people  of  the  plains.  Believing  that 
"one  might  as  well  be  killed  for  a  sheep  as  a  lamb," 
I  set  out  with  one  or  two  employees  of  the  post, 
and  was  on  hand  soon  after  the  performance 
began. 

The  tipi  used  in  the  dance  was  the  usual  living 
24 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

tent.  The  spectators  were  women  and  children, 
and  were  gathered  in  groups  close  around  the  sides, 
leaving  the  center  open  for  the  dance.  The  dancers 
appeared  clad  only  in  their  breech  clouts.  Their 
bodies  and  faces  were  horribly  painted,  mostly  in 
black.13  The  three  musicians  squatted  at  the  side 
4  of  the  tent,  each  holding  in  the  left  hand  a  drum 
with  only  one  head,  on  which  each  beat  with  a 
stick.  As  we  approached  the  tipi,  we  plainly  heard 
the  shouts  and  whoops  of  the  dancers,  and  when 
we  entered  found  ten  or  twelve  warriors  dancing 
in  the  middle  of  the  tipi.  As  they  moved  about, 
each  jumped  up  twice  on  one  foot,  landing  on  the 
heel,  and  then  repeated  the  jump  with  the  other 
foot,  keeping  time  as  they  danced  to  the  music  of 
the  drummers.  These,  as  they  beat  the  drums, 
chanted  a  mournful  song,  which  in  some  cases  was 
taken  up  by  the  warriors.  Frequently  these  last 
appeared  to  be  in  a  high  state  of  excitement  and 
uttered  blood-curdling  yells  and  whoops.  The 
women  and  children  lying  about  close  under  the 
lodge  coverings  did  not  seem  particularly  interested 
in  what  was  going  on,  nor  did  they  enter  into  the 
excitement.  After  remaining  about  one  hour  we 
withdrew. 

The  principal  object  of  my  stay  at  Fort  Peck 
was  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  make 

25 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

a  hunt  with  the  French  half-breeds,14  who,  as 
Major  Mitchell  was  informed,  would  soon  reach 
Fort  Peck  to  deliver  a  quantity  of  pemmican, 
which  they  had  contracted  to  supply  to  the  agency. 
These  people  were  the  descendants  of  the  Indians 
and  the  original  French  population  of  western 
Canada.  They  were  civilized,  Christianized  and 
Catholics,  and  certain  bands  of  them  came  across 
the  border  each  season  and  followed  the  herds  of 
buffalo  which  roamed  over  the  plains  between  the 
Missouri  River  and  the  Canada  line.  In  winter 
these  vast  herds  tended  to  drift  southward  before 
the  northerly  winter  winds,  as  far  as  the  valley 
of  the  Yellowstone.  The  French  half-breeds 
earned  their  living  by  following  these  buffalo1,  kill- 
ing them  as  they  needed  them,  saving  and  dressing 
the  skins,  and  making  pemmican.15 

Pemmican  consists  of  meat  that  has  been  thor- 
oughly dried,  beaten  and  ground  between  stones 
until  it  is  very  flimsy  and  loose.  It  is  then  packed 
into  a  mold  of  green  buffalo  hide  from  which  the 
hair  has  been  removed.  The  interstices  are  then 
thoroughly  filled  by  pouring  in  hot  melted  tallow. 
The  dried  meat  must  not  be  packed  so  tight  as  to 
prevent  the  melted  tallow  from  thoroughly  mixing 
with  the  lean  dried  meat.  The  package  is  then 
sewed  up,  and  when  thoroughly  cold  is  easily 

26 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

handled.  It  weighs  about  a  hundred  pounds  to  the 
package.  Sometimes  choke  cherries  or  buffalo  ber- 
ries are  mixed  with  the  tallow.  Pemmican  is  very 
palatable  and  nourishing,  and  is  largely  used  in 
winter  travel  in  the  British  Northwest. 

These  French  half-breeds  were  well  armed, 
good  hunters,  and  made  their  living  from  the  buf- 
falo. The  robes  they  sold  at  three  or  four  dollars 
each.  Pemmican  they  sold  to  the  Indian  agencies, 
always  reserving  enough  for  their  own  winter  use. 
Their  means  of  transportation  was  unique,  and 
suited  to  the  open  prairies  over  which  they  roam. 
It  consisted  of  two-wheeled  carts  with  wooden 
axles  and  without  any  iron  or  steel  in  their  con- 
struction. The  entire  vehicle  was  bound  together 
with  buffalo  rawhide.  These  carts  were  usually 
drawn  by  one  or  two  hardy  Indian  ponies.  If  two, 
they  were  driven  tandem.  If  a  cart  broke  down  it 
was  easily  repaired  by  means  of  the  strings  and 
lines  and  rawhide  which  all  possessed.  The  axles 
were  ungreased,  and  when  the  half-breeds  were 
moving,  the  cries  of  the  wheels  could  be  heard  a 
mile  off.  Their  wives  and  children  traveled  with 
them,  and  they  lived  in  lodges  like  the  Indians. 

These  half-breeds  were  seldom  molested  by  any 
of  the  prairie  tribes,  and  were  on  good  terms  with 
all  of  them,  though  occasionally  young  men  on 

27 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  warpath  approached  the  camps  and  tried  to 
run  off  horses.  In  case  of  danger,  the  half-breeds 
brought  their  carts  together  in  a  circle,  placed  the 
ponies  within  it,  tipped  up  the  bodies  of  their  carts, 
and  behind  this  fortification  were  absolutely  safe 
from  the  charge  of  any  enemy  that  might  attack 
them. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Fort  Peck  the  band  of 
half-breeds  came  in,  their  carts  groaning  under 
their  loads  of  pemmican.  The  leader  was  a  wide- 
awake, fairly  educated  and  intelligent  man.  I 
could  have  gone  out  with  them,  except  for  my  ill- 
ness, which  would  have  made  the  trip  suicide. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness  that  I  received 
from  the  officers  of  the  agency  during  this  illness. 
The  surgeon,  Dr.  Southworth,16  was  especially 
kind,  and  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him.  He  was  much 
interested  in  collecting  freaks  of  nature,  and  among 
his  trophies  were  pieces  of  three  separate  white 
buffalo  robes.  These  he  valued  very  highly.  Dr. 
Southworth  told  me  of  a  white  beaver  skin  owned 
by  a  person  in  Fort  Benton,  Montana,  whither  I 
was  going,  and  said  that  he  believed  it  the  only 
white  beaver  ever  heard  of  this  side  (north)  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  I  determined  that  I  would 
try  to  obtain  it  for  the  Doctor,  and  when  in  Fort 
Benton  the  following  November,  I  hunted  it  up. 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  found  it  in  possession  of  a  Mr.  Evans,  who  told 
me  that  it  was  trapped  on  what  was  afterward 
called  White  Beaver17  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
Yellowstone  River,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Horn.  Believing  this  to  be  the  only  white  beaver 
ever  trapped  in  the  Northwestern  Territories,  I 
gave  $25  for  the  skin  and  sent  it  to  Dr.  South- 
worth,  who  was  much  gratified  to  receive  it. 

On  the  prairie  back  of  Fort  Peck  was  a  great 
burial  ground  of  Indians  that  had  died  at  the 
agency.  It  could  be  seen  for  a  long  way  down  the 
river,  and  used  to  attract  much  curiosity.  The 
graves  were  not  dug  in  the  ground,  but  each  body 
wrapped  in  its  robe  or  blanket,  was  placed  upon  a 
platform  about  twelve  feet  high. 

The  scaffold18  rested  on  four  poles,  to  which  it 
was  bound  by  thongs  of  rawhide.  While  the 
people  were  journeying  here  and  there  over  the 
prairie  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  deposited  in 
trees,  where  they  were  firmly  tied,  and  at  a  date 
later  than  this  I  observed  that  all  the  trees  on  the 
river  near  Cow  Island  held  one  or  more  dead 
bodies.  After  having  been  thus  put  in  the  trees 
and  on  scaffolds,  no  further  attention  was  paid 
to  the  dead. 

It  was  not  difficult  to  surmise  the  origin  of  this 
custom ;  if  buried,  bodies  were  quite  sure  to  be  dug 

29 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

up  by  wolves  and  other  predatory  animals.  Be- 
sides this,  the  Indians,  until  the  advent  of  the 
white  man,  possessed  no  tools  of  steel  or  iron.  Pick 
and  shovel,  the  only  tools  with  which  a  grave  might 
be  dug,  were  unknown  among  these  nomadic  tribes 
at  that  time. 

My  stay  at  Fort  Peck  lasted  for  about  a  month 
— from  July  29  to  August  27,  on  which  day  I  left 
by  the  steamer  Key  West  to  go  further  up  the 
river.  This  was  the  first  vessel  that  had  passed  up 
stream  since  I  reached  here.  During  the  whole 
time  of  my  stay  I  had  been  ill  and  had  been  treated 
with  the  utmost  kindness  by  Major  Mitchell  and 
Dr.  Southworth,  whose  conduct  emphasized  again 
the  lesson  learned  long  ago,  that  this  world  is  full 
of  good,  kind,  high-minded  people,  no  matter  what 
their  condition  and  surroundings  in  life. 

Cow  Island  Crossing,  where  we  landed  four 
days  after  leaving  Fort  Peck,  was  the  only  route 
by  which  "bull  teams"  could  reach  the  river.  The 
post  was  located  near  the  mouth  of  Cow  Island 
Creek,  which  comes  in  from  the  north,  and  was  the 
head  of  low  water  navigation.  By  the  large  freight 
outfits  which  came  down  to  the  river  at  this  point, 
was  distributed  a  vast  amount  of  freight  over  all 
Montana.  The  route,  after  leaving  the  valley  of 
the  river,  skirts  the  foot  of  the  Bear  Paw  Moun- 

30 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

tains  on  the  south  and  goes  on  to  Fort  Benton, 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Cow  Island. 
For  protection  to  the  freight  discharged  here,  a 
company  of  the  Seventh  U.  S.  Infantry  was  sta- 
tioned at  this  point.  The  freight  was  under  charge 
of  Col.  Geo.  Clendenin,19  an  old-timer  in  the 
country  and  a  very  intelligent,  reliable  and  good 
business  man.  He  was  from  Washington,  D.  C. 
Among  the  large  and  well  organized  freighting 
outfits  of  that  day,  I  recall  one,  the  Diamond-R, 
and  another  owned  by  Murphy,  Neill  &  Co.  Each 
outfit  consisted  of  seven  teams,  and  each  team  of 
seven  yoke  of  oxen,  'each  team  of  oxen  pulling  three 
wagons  linked  together.  At  this  time  the  leading 
wagon  was  commonly  loaded  with  about  3,500 
pounds  of  freight,  while  the  intermediate  and  trail 
wagons  carried  smaller  loads.  To  each  outfit  there 
was  a  foreman,  a  driver  for  each  team  and  a  night 
herder;  all  were  well  armed  with  repeating  rifles. 
Usually  they  made  camp  early  in  the  day  and  then 
turned  loose  their  bulls  to  graze  under  the  control 
of  a  night  herder  until  the  next  morning.  The 
average  day's  journey  was  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles. 
These  freight  outfits  could  follow  almost  any  route 
over  the  plains  country.  If  they  met  with  steep 
ravines  or  boggy  places  they  had  the  labor  and 
tools  to  repair  the  road.  In  case  of  a  steep,  hard 

31 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

pull,  the  trail  wagons  were  dropped,  and  each 
wagon  pulled  up  separately  and  then  assembled  at 
the  top  of  the  hill.  If  danger  from  hostile  Indians 
threatened,  the  wagons  were  brought  together  to 
form  a  fortification,  and  the  nine  or  ten  expert 
shots  within  the  circle  of  the  wagons  usually  gave 
a  good  account  of  themselves.  It  was  through  men 
able  so  to  adapt  themselves  to  surrounding  con- 
ditions that  the  magnificent  Empire  of  the  North- 
west was  wrested  from  the  control  of  the  savage. 
At  that  date  Bismarck  was  the  nearest  railroad 
point  on  the  east,  while  on  the  south  it  was  Ogden 
or  perhaps  Corinne.  The  great  waterway  of  the 
Missouri  River  furnished  Montana  and  a  great 
portion  of  the  British  Northwest  with  most  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  as  clothing,  sugar,  coffee  and 
canned  provisions.  The  only  articles  of  export 
were  gold  from  the  placer  mines  in  the  mountains 
— which  usually  went  out  by  Ogden — and  the 
skins  of  various  furred  animals,  such  as  beaver, 
fox  and  wolf,  together  with  the  hides  of  the  ante- 
lope, deer,  elk  and  buffalo. 

At  Cow  Island  I  spent  a  very  enjoyable  month 
from  August  31  to  September  28.  Black-tailed — 
mule — deer  were  fairly  abundant,  but  there  were 
no  elk  or  bear.  I  made  frequent  excursions  into  the 
adjacent  hills  and  killed  some  deer,  which  were 

32 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

always  acceptable  at  the  post.  As  the  weather  was 
dry  and  the  temperature  agreeable  the  time  passed 
very  quickly. 

During  the  autumn  the  gold  excitement  in  the 
Black  Hills  brought  down  from  up  the  river  a  num- 
ber of  miners  on  the  way  to  the  Hills.  From  one 
of  these  I  purchased  a  black,  bald-faced  horse, 
Charlie,  with  saddle  and  bridle,  while  from  an- 
other I  secured  a  pack  mule  with  a  complete  outfit 
for  packing.  I  was  now  independent,  and  could 
go  anywhere. 

During  my  stay  at  Cow  Island,  two  boats  came 
up  the  river,  the  Durfee  and  the  Benton.  On  one 
of  these  was  Lieut.  Schofield,  of  the  Second  Cav- 
alry, with  a  number  of  recruits. 

It  was  unsafe  to  make  the  trip  to  Benton  alone, 
and  for  some  time  I  had  been  awaiting  some  com- 
pany, and  this  was  my  chance.  Lieut.  Schofield 
needed  a  pack  animal,  which  I  had,  and  which  car- 
ried a  part  of  our  things.  A  good  man  was  em- 
ployed as  packer  and  cook,  and  on  the  28th  of 
September  we  pulled  out  from  Cow  Island.  On 
the  second  evening  we  camped  at  the  foot  of  the 
Bear  Paw  Mountains.  I  had  gone  ahead  and 
killed  a  buffalo,  which  furnished  food  for  the  fifty 
souls  of  the  outfit  until  Fort  Benton  was  reached 
on  the  3d  of  October. 

33 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Fort  Benton  was  then  a  place  of  about  eight 
hundred  people,  and  contained  three  trading  stores 
—I.  G.  Baker  &  Co.,  T.  C.  Power  &  Co.,  and 
Murphy,  Neill  &  Co.  Here  I  met  W.  G.  Conrad, 
manager  of  I.  G.  Baker  &  Co.,  and  his  brother 
Charles,  who  were  from  Virginia,  and  had  served 
as  Confederate  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War.  I 
met  also  Colonel  Donelly,  who  had  served  in  the 
Federal  Army,  and  who  later  was  conspicuous  in 
the  Fenian  troubles  on  the  Canadian  border.  For 
ten  days  I  hunted  with  Colonel  Donelly  in  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Highwood  Mountains,  and  later  made 
an  arrangement  with  two  sons  of  Mr.  Hackshaw, 
living  on  Highwood  Creek,  to  make  a  hunt  lasting 
for  a  month.  Their  object  was  to  get  a  supply  of 
winter's  meat  for  Mr.  Hackshaw,  while  I  was 
anxious  for  sport. 

We  left  the  Hackshaw  ranch  October  20  for 
the  Judith  Basin,  about  fifty  miles  to  the  south, 
where  buffalo  were  reported  abundant.  My  hunt- 
ing companions  were  Cornelius,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  John,  sixteen,  both  wide-awake  boys 
and  good  shots.  I  took  with  me  my  riding  horse 
and  pack  mule,  and  my  rifle  was  a  long-range 
Sharp,  carrying  a  90-450  or  a  90-520  shell.  Our 
route  lay  by  the  ranch  of  Oscar  Olinger  on  Belt 
Creek,  and  we  consulted  with  him  and  his  partner, 

34 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Buck  Barker,  as  to  the  best  hunting  grounds.  They 
had  just  returned  from  a  buffalo  hunt  in  the  Judith 
Basin,  and  told  us  that  a  party  of  Nez  Perces 
Indians  of  ninety  warriors  had  just  passed  through 
the  Judith  Gap  after  buffalo.  They  advised  us  to 
go  up  on  the  west  slope  of  the  High  wood  Moun- 
tains for  elk  and  buffalo.  We  took  their  advice, 
and  on  the  29th  day  of  October  moved  up  one  of 
the  branches  of  Belt  Creek,  a  day's  journey,  and 
made  permanent  camp. 

It  was  on  a  beautiful  mountain  stream  full  of 
trout,  and  we  caught  enough  for  one  or  two  meals 
that  evening.  The  next  day,  riding  up  to  the 
base  of  the  mountains,  about  a  mile  distant,  we  saw 
during  the  day  twenty-five  deer.  I  killed  a  black- 
tail  buck,  and  Cornelius  a  whitetail  buck.  About 
one  o'clock,  just  as  I  had  killed  my  deer,  a  fierce 
snowstorm  set  in.  When  I  reached  camp  with  the 
deer  I  found  everything  comfortable.  The  storm 
ceased  before  dark,  and  during  the  night  the  sky 
cleared. 

The  next  day  it  again  began  to  snow  and  stormed 
hard  all  day  from  the  northwest,  but  on  the  first 
of  November  the  storm  ceased,  leaving  fifteen 
inches  of  snow  on  the  ground.  The  following  day 
it  was  cold,  only  a  little  above  zero,  but  I  hunted 
and  killed  nothing.  The  snow  was  now  getting 

35 


'Hunting  at  High  'Altitudes 

so  deep  that  the  horses  could  not  dig  through  it 
and  secure  food  enough  to  keep  them  in  good  con- 
dition, so  we  determined  that  they  should  be  sent 
back  to  the  ranch,  to  be  brought  out  here  again  as 
soon  as  the  snow  melted  enough  to  enable  us  to  get 
the  wagon  out.  Accordingly,  on  the  5th  of  No- 
vember, John  started  for  the  ranch,  packing  two 
deer  on  one  horse  and  riding  the  other.  He  be- 
lieved that  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  would  take  him 
home,  but  I  feared  that  he  might  have  trouble  with 
snowdrifts.  Cornelius  and  I  remained  in  camp 
with  little  to  do,  for  the  snow  was  two  feet  deep, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  move  about  in  it.  However, 
we  had  plenty  of  provisions,  abundant  venison  and 
a  brook  full  of  trout,  almost  in  front  of  the  tent 
door. 

On  the  6th  of  November  Cornelius  and  I  deter- 
mined to  make  a  hunt.  We  did  so,  and  killed  two 
deer;  but  returned  at  night  almost  broken  down 
with  fatigue,  for  the  labor  of  walking  through  two 
feet  of  snow  was  extraordinary.  The  next  few 
days  we  spent  in  camp,  loading  cartridges,  fishing 
and  performing  various  camp  tasks.  The  weather 
was  mild  and  the  snow  thawed  so  rapidly  that  we 
determined  to  hunt  the  following  day.  It  was 
still  warm,  and  I  set  out  and  followed  three  white- 
tails  up  into  the  Dines  where  I  killed  a  large  buck 

36 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

at  three  hundred  yards  distance.  On  my  way  home 
I  killed  a  large  doe  at  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards. 
I  saw  two  elk  tracks.  Cornelius,  who  had  returned 
before  me,  had  killed  an  old  doe  and  had  crossed 
the  trail  of  a  large  band  of  elk — forty  or  fifty,  he 
thought — that  had  passed  through  our  hunting 
grounds  the  day  before.  One  of  the  deer  that  he 
had  killed  before  had  been  eaten  by  some  large 
animal. 

November  10  was  mild  again,  and  the  snow 
too  noisy  for  hunting.  I  found  deer  very  scarce, 
and  believed  that  they  must  have  left.  I  saw  but 
one  and  got  that  at  long  range.  On  my  return  to 
camp  I  found  John  had  come  back  with  the  horses. 
On  his  way  home  on  the  4th  he  was  lost  in  a  snow- 
storm and  lay  out  all  night. 

Now  that  we  had  the  horses,  we  packed  into 
camp  the  game  that  we  had  killed,  and  Cornelius 
killed  another  large  buck.  On  the  following  day 
the  work  of  bringing  in  the  game  continued.  I 
went  hunting  in  the  morning,  but  saw  only  four 
deer,  and  reached  camp  on  my  return  just  before 
one  of  the  fiercest  snowstorms  I  ever  experienced. 
The  wind  blew  fiercely,  and  the  snow  fell  fast, 
while  the  thermometer  went  down  to  5  degrees 
below  zero  at  7  P.  M.  The  next  day  it  was  still 
colder,  1 6  degrees  below,  but  windless.  We  packed 

37 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

up  and  moved  camp  to  Willow  Creek,  where  there 
was  very  little  wood.  At  6  o'clock  the  thermometer 
was  5  degrees  below  zero.  We  slept  on  the  snow 
without  putting  up  a  tent,  and  went  to  bed  early 
to  save  firewood.  The  next  day  it  was  warmer, 
20  degrees  above  zero  at  sunrise,  and  there  was 
every  sign  of  a  hard  storm.  We  determined  to  go 
to  Highwood  Creek  without  delay  and  reached 
Mr.  Hackshaw's  ranch  by  dark.  A  few  miles 
from  the  base  of  the  mountains  the  snow  was 
almost  all  gone,  except  what  had  fallen  a  few  days 
since.  It  was  reported  from  Benton  that  Tilden 
had  been  elected  President,  which  greatly  rejoiced 
me. 

After  a  few  days  at  the  ranch,  I  asked  Mr. 
Hackshaw  to  take  me  to  Fort  Benton,  and  we  set 
out  on  the  i8th  of  November.  In  the  town  I 
found  the  result  of  the  recent  election  still  in  doubt, 
and  the  Democrats  very  much  wrought  up  over  the 
belief  that  the  opposition  was  determined  to  hold 
the  control  of  the  Government  at  any  cost.  So 
strong  was  the  feeling  that  Colonel  Donelly  wrote 
to  a  prominent  Civil  War  comrade,  now  residing 
in  Illinois,  that  Montana  was  prepared  to  furnish 
a  regiment  of  men  to  assist  in  seating  Tilden. 

At  that  time  Fort  Benton  was  remarkable  as 
being  the  most  orderly  place  in  the  Territory,  per- 

38 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

haps  in  any  State  or  Territory.  There  were  twenty 
saloons  in  the  place,  yet  I  never  knew  a  town  more 
free  from  disorders  of  any  kind.  In  past  years, 
when  two  or  three  "bull  outfits"  happened  to  meet 
there,  the  men  connected  with  them,  having  been 
out  on  the  plains  for  several  months,  would  often 
set  out  to  have  a  good  time,  and  would  be  very 
boisterous  in  the  work  of  "painting  the  town  red." 
This  had  been  carried  to  a  point  where  it  became 
an  unbearable  nuisance,  and  at  a  recent  election  the 
best  people,  saloon-keepers  and  all,  had  wished  to 
elect  a  set  of  county  officers  who  should  reform 
things.  They  had  chosen  a  sheriff,20  John  J. 
Healy,  a  man  noted  for  high  character  and  fear- 
lessness, a  county  police  judge,  who  was  a  dis- 
charged U.  S.  soldier  of  proper  characteristics,  and 
other  officers  of  like  stamp,  and  a  strong  public 
sentiment  sustained  all  these.  At  the  least  dis- 
order the  offender  was  brought  before  the  police 
judge,  who  promptly  fined  him  fifty  dollars  or 
imposed  a  jail  sentence,  or  both.  This  course  was 
firmly  carried  out  until  the  little  jail  was  full  to 
overflowing,  and  by  that  time  the  disorderly  class 
recognized  that  the  public  were  determined  to  have 
good  order,  and  accepted  the  situation. 

After  two  weeks  pleasantly  spent  at  Fort  Ben- 
ton,  I  started  on  December  3  by  wagon  for  the 

39 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ranch  of  Oscar  Olinger  on  Belt  Creek,  about  thirty 
miles  to  the  south  of  Fort  Benton.  Here  I  re- 
mained until  February  7,  1877.  Deer  were  abund- 
ant in  the  foothills  of  the  Highwood  Mountains 
and  Belt  Creek  valley.  The  weather  was  bracing 
and  splendid.  For  most  of  the  time  it  was  a  com- 
fort and  pleasure  to  be  all  day  out  of  doors,  espe- 
cially when  one  had  an  object  in  view — the  finding 
of  meat  for  eight  healthy  souls  and  two  dogs.  With1 
this  feeling  and  with  my  love  for  hunting,  it  may 
be  understood  that  these  sixty-six  days  were  greatly 
enjoyed.  During  thirty-seven  days  of  this  time  the 
temperature  in  the  middle  of  the  day  was  so  mild 
that  the  snow  melted,  and  sometimes  this  melting 
continued  through  the  night.  On  only  two  days 
was  there  rain.  The  temperature  was  above  zero 
for  forty-five  days,  and  at  least  fifty  days  were 
sunshiny.  The  minimum  temperatures  for  Janu- 
ary were  16  degrees  below  zero  on  the  23d,  and 
26  degrees  below  zero  on  the  24th.  In  February 
the  minimum  temperature  was  15  degrees  below 
zero  on  the  i8th. 

The  waters  of  Belt  Creek  were  open  over  the 
rapids  most  of  the  winter,  and  on  the  5th  of 
February,  Donelly  and  I  went  fishing  near  the 
ranch,  and  after  fishing  two  hours  on  this  warm 
day  he  had  caught  twenty-four  mountain  trout  and 

40 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  had  caught  twenty- three ;  my  twenty-three  weigh- 
ing, after  being  dressed,  sixteen  pounds.  I  sent 
these  to  Fort  Benton  with  my  friend  Donelly.  I 
did  most  of  the  hunting  for  the  ranch,  though 
Olinger  occasionally  went  with  me  to  help  pack  in 
the  game. 

During  my  stay  here  I  exchanged  my  horse 
Charlie  for  Olinger's  mare  Kate,  a  little  animal 
only  fourteen  hands  high,  well  formed  and  endur- 
ing, and  trained  through  Olinger's  long  use  of  her 
in  hunting  as  a  most  perfect  hunting  animal.  I 
valued  her  very  highly  and  owned  and  cared  for 
her  during  the  remainder  of  her  life.  At  this  date 
she  was  six  years  of  age,  and  she  died  at  my  ranch 
on  the  Grey  Bull  River  in  1893,  which  made  her 
twenty-one  years  of  age  at  death.  Olinger  had  a 
well- trained  dog,  Major,  thoroughly  broken  to  fol- 
low at  heel,  and  if  a  deer  was  wounded  he  always 
caught  and  held  it. 

At  this  time  and  earlier,  the  plains  bordering 
the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  rivers,  the  Marias 
River,  the  Judith  Basin  and  Musselshell  country 
and  the  Yellowstone  Valley  on  the  south  were 
roamed  over  by  antelope  and  buffalo  in  countless 
numbers.  In  the  foothills  of  the  mountains  which 
rose  from  the  plains  were  large  bands  of  elk  and 
white  and  black-tail  deer  in  great  abundance.  Many 

4* 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

of  the  early  settlers  of  that  day,  as  a  means  of 
livelihood,  devoted  their  time  to  obtaining  the 
hides  of  all  these  animals  and  poisoning  the  car- 
casses with  strychnine  to  secure  the  hides  of  the 
large  gray  wolf,  the  coyote  and  other  carnivorous 
animals.21  These  hides,  after  being  dried,  were 
salable  at  the  various  trading  stores.  One  man, 
Barker,  had  a  record  of  killing  thirty-two'  antelope 
in  one  day.  As  the  antelope  left  the  Missouri 
River,  after  watering,  they  went  up  a  narrow 
coulee  in  the  Bad  Lands,  from  which  there  was  no 
outlet.  Barker  followed  them,  and  by  his  repeating 
rifle,  as  they  attempted  toi  pass  him,  he  killed 
thirty-two. 

At  this  time  Olinger  had  a  few  cattle  and  had 
settled  down  on  his  ranch  to  attend  to  them,  while 
Barker  was  prospecting  for  precious  metals  at  the 
head  of  Belt  Creek.  In  the  end,  as  the  discoverer 
of  the  Barker  Mine,  which  I  was  glad  to  learn  he 
sold  for  from  $15,000  to  $20,000,  he  was  success- 
ful. Col.  Geo.  Clendenin,  already  spoken  of,  be- 
came in  after  years  manager  of  these  mines,  and 
eventually  lost  his  life  there. 

Although  I  was  kept  fairly  busy  in  securing  meat 
and  packing  in  the  deer,  occasionally  assisted  by 
Olinger,  I  visited  Fort  Benton  during  the  Christ- 
mas we'ek,  leaving  the  ranch  on  the  24th  of  De- 

42 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

cember.  When  we  reached  the  river  opposite  the 
town,  we  found  to  our  dismay  that  the  ice  was 
running  so  thick  that  it  was  impossible  to  operate 
the  ferry  boat,  and  we  could  not  get  across.  We 
were  without  blankets,  food  or  firewood ;  the  tem- 
perature stood  at  12  degrees  below  zero.  There 
was  no  house  behind  us  for  twenty  miles,  and  be- 
fore us  ran  the  turbid  river,  surging  with  broken 
ice.  We  were  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  At  last  some 
one  suggested  that  three  miles  below  there  was  a 
cabin  where  we  might  find  shelter.  We  went  there, 
found  the  owner  at  home,  and  he  took  us  in  and 
made  us  as  comfortable  as  possible.  The  next 
morning  we  found  the  ice  not  running  and  the 
river  frozen  over,  and  by  careful  sounding  with 
an  ax  and  pole,  and  stepping  from  one  ice  cake  to 
another,  we  finally  crossed  over  and  reached  Benton 
at  noon. 

As  I  walked  about  the  town  with  a  friend,  I  saw 
on  its  outskirts  a  very  large  adobe  building22  with 
a  high  adobe  wall  in  front,  and  asking  about  it,  I 
was  told  that  fifty  years  before  it  had  been  built  as 
a  fort  and  trading  store  by  the  Northwestern  Fur 
Company;  that  it  had  only  one  entrance  through 
the  outer  wall,  and  was  built  for  defense  against 
Indians. 

I  asked  my  friend  why  it  was  that  it  was  no 

43 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

longer  occupied,  and  he  replied,  "It  is  occupied," 
and  gave  me  the  following  explanation : 

"When  a  military  post  was  established  at  this 
point,  this  old  adobe  building,  apparently  unoccu- 
pied, appeared  just  what  was  needed  for  a  fort,  and 
the  Government  at  once  purchased  it  and  installed 
its  garrison — two  companies  of  infantry.  No 
sooner  were  the  soldiers  settled  in  their  new  quar- 
ters than  the  inhabitants,  who  had  occupied  these 
quarters  for  twenty-five  or1  thirty  years,  sallied 
forth  in  defense  of  their  home,  and  in  bands  of 
thousands  assaulted  this  detachment  of  the  United 
States  Army.  The  severe  conflict  lasted  for  a  week 
or  more.  Every  device  of  the  military  art  was 
brought  to  bear,  every  pound  of  the  druggist's  art 
was  applied.  All  efforts  were  futile.  After  a  gal- 
lant fight  this  detachment  of  the  U.  S.  Army  was 
driven  bleeding  from  the  fort  and  compelled  to 
take  refuge  in  a  frame  building  in  the  center  of  the 
town,  where  it  was  quartered  at  the  time  of  my 
Christmas  visit." 

Early  in  February  the  blacktail  and  whitetail 
deer  were  both  becoming  poor,  and  as  winter  was 
now  at  its  worst,  I  determined  to  go  to  Helena, 
Mont.,  for  the  rest  of  the  winter  and  spring.  The 
contrast  between  life  on  a  ranch  engaged  in  hard 
work,  and  living  in  town  seemed  worth  trying,  and 

44 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

accordingly  I  started.  After  spending  a  week  in 
town  I  went  with  I.  Hill,  the  manager  of  one  of  the 
stores,  to  Fort  Shaw,  in  his  buckboard,  and  from 
there  to  Helena,  which  I  reached  February  17. 
Here  I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter. 

My  chief  recreation  in  Helena  was  long-range 
target  shooting  with  a  few  gentlemen  of  that  city 
interested  in  this  sport. 


1877 

I  spent  part  of  the  summer  of  1877  journeying 
along  the  Missouri  River  from  a  point  opposite 
Helena  to  Fort  Benton.  Apart  from  my  hunting 
experiences,  the  most  interesting  thing  I  saw  was 
the  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri,  about  thirty  miles 
above  Fort  Benton. 

There  are  a  succession  of  falls,  extending  seven 
or  eight  miles  up  the  river.  The  lower  falls  form 
a  cascade  of  eighty  feet  fall  for  half  the  width  of 
the  stream,  the  other  half  having  a  slope  of  about 
45  degrees.  At  high  water,  these  falls  in  volume 
and  in  evidence  of  power  are  second  only  to 
Niagara  in  this  country. 

The  Great  Falls  of  the  Yellowstone  are  more 
beautiful,  but  lack  the  grandeur  and  mass  of  the 
two  just  named.  Of  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Mis- 
souri, perhaps  the  most  interesting  is  one  about 
three  miles  above  the  main  fall,  with  a  cascade  of 
about  forty  feet  fall  for  the  full  width  of  the  river. 

I  had  come  so  far  north  as  this,  expecting  that  a 
friend  from  Fort  Benton  would  accompany  me 

46 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

through  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  in  the  early 
autumn,  but  in  this  I  was  disappointed.  I  therefore 
prepared  to  make  the  trip  alone. 

I  had  not  yet  discovered  the  luxury  of  traveling 
with  a  pack  outfit,  and  was  using  a  light,  two-horse 
spring  wagon,  driven  by  Levi,  a  Missouri  colored 
man,  who  also  acted  as  cook.  The  route  lay 
through  the  Judith  Basin,  thence  around  the  great 
hills  of  the  Crazy  Woman  Mountains  to  the  Yel- 
lowstone River,  and  up  that  stream.  The  Judith! 
Basin,  formed  by  the  Highwood  Mountains  and 
Belt  Mountains  on  the  north  and  west  and  the 
Snowy  and  Moccasin  ranges  on  the  south  and  east, 
was  rich  in  grass,  and  at  that  season  of  the  year 
was  usually  the  resort  of  immense  herds  of  buffalo. 
Buffalo  were  usually  followed  up  by  the  Indians.  I 
was  advised  by  many  old-timers  and  frontiersmen 
that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  make  the  trip  through 
that  basin  at  this  time  of  the  year.  The  only  white 
men  on  the  route  were  a  ranchman  at  a  trading 
store  on  the  Musselshell,  and  another  ranch  on  the 
Yellowstone  River,  five  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
Big  Timber  Creek.  As  the  abandonment  of  this 
route  would  oblige  me  to  give  up  my  trip  through 
the  Yellowstone  for  that  year,  I  determined  to  go 
on.  Levi,  who  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  In- 
dians, was  willing  to  go  with  me. 

47 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

On  the  1 5th  of  August,  we  passed  from  the 
waters  of  Belt  Creek  through  the  Belt  Pass  and 
into  the  Basin,  which  contained  many  rich  valleys 
and  has  long  been  occupied  by  stockmen.  We 
passed  through  the  Basin  without  mishap,  though 
almost  every  night  there  was  an  Indian  scare.  In 
the  outfit  there  was  a  little  red  mule  that  was  a 
splendid  sentinel,  for  whenever  anything  ap- 
proached the  camp  he  would  give  a  succession 
of  snorts.  We  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  Judith 
Gap  August  19. 

On  making  camp  on  the  evening  of  August  19, 
we  discovered  the  advance  of  a  herd  of  buffalo 
coming  through  the  Judith  Gap  from  the  Mussel- 
shell  country.  The  next  morning  camp  was  not 
moved,  but  we  approached  the  outskirts  of  the 
immense  herd  with  care,  so  as  not  to  alarm  the 
main  body  of  the  buffalo.  After  killing  what  meat 
we  needed — a  fat  calf — a  high  butte  was  climbed, 
and  we  had  a  view  of  the  whole  gap,  about  one 
mile  in  width.  It  was  a  warm,  lazy  day,  inducing 
in  man  or  beast  that  common  malady  known  as 
spring  fever.  There,  in  sight  of  us,  were  about 
5,000  buffalo,  lolling  about  in  various  positions, 
some  grazing,  some  lying  down  and  some  old  bulls 
sitting  up.  The  scene  was  new  to  me,  and  I  viewed 
it  for  an  hour  through  a  good  pair  of  field  glasses. 

48 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  noticed  then,  for  the  first  time,  a  peculiarity  in 
which  the  buffalo  differs  from  other  split-hoofed 
animals.  Cattle  in  rising  from  a  prone  position 
lift  the  hind  part  first  and  then  the  fore  part,  as 
do  also  the  deer  family.  A  white-tail  deer,  or  ante- 
lope, if  alarmed,  will  spring  from  the  ground  hind 
and  fore  parts  at  once,  apparently.  My  observation 
that  day  with  wild  buffalo  was  that  they  rose  with 
the  fore  feet  first,  and  then  the  hind  feet.  A  horse 
rises  in  the  came  way.  On  that  lazy  spring  fever 
day  there  were  quite  a  number  of  old  bulls  sitting; 
up,  something  like  a  dog,  lolling  about  and  enjoy- 
ing the  sunshine,  and  from  this  peculiarity  of  the 
buffalo  doubtless  old  Sitting  Bull  derived  his  name. 

At  1 1  o'clock  at  night  a  courier  passed  our  camp 
with  dispatches  for  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  Colonel 
Sturgis,  with  orders  to  repair  at  once  to  Fort  Ellis 
in  consequence  of  the  setback  received  on  the  Big 
Hole  River  by  General  Gibbon  in  his  attack  on  the 
Nez  Perces  Indians,  who,  after  repulsing  the  onset 
of  the  soldiers,  continued  their  march  toward  the 
Yellowstone  and  the  buffalo  country. 

We  reached  the  trading  post  of  Mr.  Fettig  at 
the  forks  of  the  Musselshell  on  the  2Oth,  and 
spent  a  day  at  the  camp  getting  information  from 
Mr.  Gordon  and  other  ranchmen  of  that  vicinity 
as  to  the  best  route  for  wheels  to  the  Yellowstone 

49 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Valley.  They  agreed  to  put  me  on  the  trail  of  the 
only  bull  train  that  had  ever  passed  through  that 
country  around  the  eastern  foothills  of  the  Crazy 
Woman  Mountains. 

We  left  camp  on  the  Musselshell,  August  22, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Gordon,  who  volunteered  to 
stay  with  me  until  the  wagon  road  was  reached. 
At  noon  we  passed  Big  Elk  Creek,  where  we  met 
a  Mr.  Miller,  who  had  established  himself  in  a 
dugout  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  and  was  look- 
ing after  a  considerable  band  of  Oregon  horses  in 
a  splendid  range.  We  camped  eight  or  ten  miles 
beyond. 

It  was  many  years  afterward — in  Billings,  Mon- 
tana— that  I  met  this  same  Mr.  Miller,  who  in- 
formed me  that  the  night  after  we  had  met  on  Big 
Elk,  a  band  of  Piegan  Indians  had  swooped  down 
on  his  band  of  fifty  horses  and  made  away  with 
them.  The  country  was  too  sparsely  settled  to  get 
together  a  force  sufficient  to  pursue.  The  loss  did 
not  appear  to  have  discouraged  him,  for  at  the 
time  we  met  again  he  was  a  prosperous  sheepman 
of  the  Yellowstone  Valley. 

Just  one  year  afterward,  in  the  same  vicinity,  a 
war  party  of  the  same  tribe  made  a  dash  at  about 
1 1  o'clock  at  night  on  a  large  horse  freight  outfit 
loaded  with  rifles  and  ammunition  for  Walter 

So 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Cooper,  of  Bozeman,  Montana,  which  was  camped 
at  the  big  spring  in  the  Judith  Gap.  But  for  the 
vigilance  of  the  night  herder  in  giving  timely 
alarm,  and  the  vigorous  fusilade  given  them  by  the 
foreman  of  the  outfit  and  the  drivers,  they  would 
have  made  off  with  about  fifty  horses.  My  small 
party  was  camped  about  six  miles  away  on  the  road 
to  the  forks  of  the  Musselshell.  We  were  not 
disturbed. 

After  dropping  into  the  wagon  road  from 
Judith  Gap  to  the  Yellowstone  River  near  Porcu- 
pine Butte,  Mr.  Gordon  left  me  on  the  24th  of 
August,  much  to  my  regret.  He  is  still  living,  as  is 
understood.  Without  mishap  we  reached  the  Yel- 
lowstone Valley  at  the  mouth  of  Big  Timber,  and 
made  camp  in  the  first  or  lower  canon  of  that 
stream  on  the  evening  of  the  26th.  We  had  passed 
only  two  ranches  on  the  route — Gage's  and  Car- 
penter's— the  only  ranches  seen  since  leaving  the 
Musselshell.  This  camp  was  within  two  miles 
of  the  present  site  of  the  flourishing  city  of 
Livingston. 

At  daylight  of  the  morning  of  the  27th,  camp 
was  aroused  by  a  commotion  among  the  horses 
made  by  a  black  bear,  which  had  been  feasting  on 
bullberries  all  night  in  a  neighboring  thicket.  Levi, 
who  was  investigating  the  cause  of  the  racket,  had 

Si 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

a  close  shot  at  the  bear,  but  on  pulling  the  trigger 
found  no  cartridge  in  the  rifle,  and  the  bear  escaped. 

It  was  a  cool  and  sharp  morning,  and  old  Bones, 
the  horse  I  had  been  riding  for  ten  days,  was  made 
lively  by  the  crisp  air,  and  on  my  mounting,  in  a 
shorter  time  than  it  takes  to  write  it,  he  had  com- 
menced to  pitch  and  eventually  threw  me  a  somer- 
sault over  his  head.  I  landed  on  my  back — a  very 
hard  fall,  the  effects  of  which  I  felt  for  several 
days.  This  was  the  second  fall  he  had  given  me, 
and  I  determined  on  revenge.  I  decided  that  I 
would  never  mount  him  again,  and  that  I  would 
get  rid  of  him  on  the  earliest  opportunity.  He 
had  been  bought  as  a  harness  horse  in  Helena,  but 
on  the  first  hard  pull  he  had  balked  and  would  go 
neither  forward  nor  backward.  After  worrying 
with  him  for  a  day  or  so,  it  became  necessary  to 
put  my  pet  hunting  mare  Kate  in  his  place  in  the 
wagon.  I  had  been  riding  old  Bones  ever  since.  A 
man  who  was  to  travel  with  me  through  the  Park 
agreed  to  ride  him. 

After  this  catastrophe,  we  proceeded  through  the 
canon,  but  soon  reached  a  point  where,  on  account 
of  the  sidling  road  over  a  projecting  spur  of  the 
mountain,  it  was  necessary  for  the  men  to  pack  our 
plunder  over  the  spur,  and  then,  by  ropes,  hold  the 
wagon  from  turning  over. 

52 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

As  we  were  soon  to  come  upon  the  trail  where 
the  moving  Nez  Perces  Indians  had  passed 
through  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  I  give 
here  a  short  account  of  what  we  saw  and  heard  of 
their  operations  there. 

The  Nez  Perces  Indians23  had  arrived  at 
Henry's  Lake,  near  the  western  border  of  Yellow- 
stone Park,  on  their  route  to  the  buffalo  country, 
and  to  a  refuge  from  the  whites  across  the  Canada 
border.  It  is  not  out  of  place  to  relate  in  detail 
the  causes  of  this  outbreak  of  this  tribe. 

Some  time  about  1840,  the  Nez  Perces,  as  well 
as  the  Flatheads  and  some  other  tribes  of  Indians 
on  the  western  slope  of  the  Continental  Divide, 
had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  through  the 
efforts  of  Father  de  Smet,  of  St.  Louis,  and  his  co* 
laborers,  and  had  remained  Christians.  The  Nez 
Perces  had  a  valuable  reservation  around  the 
Lemhi  Agency  on  Snake  River,  which  soon  at- 
tracted the  greed  of  the  aggressive  white  men. 
They  commenced  a  system  of  encroachments,  re- 
sulting first  in  individual  killing,  then  the  killing 
increased  until  the  entire  tribe  turned  out  on  the 
war  path  and  all  the  white  men  in  their  reach  were 
killed.  The  movements  of  the  military  forced 
them  to  action. 

Under  Chief  Joseph  and  Chief  Looking  Glass 
53 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

they  then  began  that  memorable  march  to  the 
buffalo  country  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rockies, 
and  thence  toward  a  refuge  across  the  Canada 
boundary.  A  truce  was  declared  in  passing  through 
settlements  on  the  western  slope,  and  in  passing 
out  of  the  head  of  the  Bitter  Root  Valley  and  on 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Jefferson,  no  depredations 
were  committed.  On  the  Big  Hole  River,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Jefferson,  they  were  overtaken  by  a 
force  of  soldiers  sent  out  from  Fort  Shaw,  under 
General  Gibbon.  Although  with  an  inferior  force, 
with  his  enemy  armed  with  repeating  rifles,  more 
effective  in  a  fight  in  the  brush  than  the  army 
rifle,  he  made  a  vigorous  attack  on  their  camp  at 
daylight.  The  Indians  rallied,  made  a  firm  re- 
sistance, and  effectually  repulsed  the  attack.  Gibbon 
could  not  renew  the  fight  without  reinforcements, 
and  the  Indians  continued  on  their  pre-arranged 
route.  The  Nez  Perces  were  much  exasperated  at 
the  killing  of  a  number  of  their  women,  either  with 
arms  in  their  hands  or  by  stray  bullets.24  After 
this  fight,  these  Indians  killed  every  white  man  and 
took  all  the  horses  that  came  within  their  reach. 
Up  to  the  time  of  their  arrival  at  Henry's  Lake, 
eight  or  ten  white  men  had  been  killed  and  the 
teams  of  a  freight  outfit  gobbled  up. 

Chief  Joseph  showed  much  military  skill  in  the 
54 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

management  of  the  campaign.  Whenever  he 
passed  an  important  trail  leading  toward  the  white 
settlements,  a  scouting  party  was  sent  down  that 
trail  far  enough  to  avoid  surprise.  George  Heren- 
deen  had  been  sent  out  from  Fort  Ellis  to  learn  the 
whereabouts  of  these  Indians,  and  in  going  out  to 
Henry's  Lake,  where  he  expected  to  find  traces  of 
them,  he  passed  at  the  crossing  of  the  Madison  a 
camp  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  miners  from  the 
Pony  mines,  acting  as  scouts,  and  with  the  further 
intention  of  making  a  dash  on  the  camp  of  hostiles 
to  secure  a  lot  of  their  horses.  Herendeen  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Henry's  Lake  about  the  time  that 
the  Indians  arrived  there,  climbed  a  tree  and  saw 
enough  to  satisfy  him  that  this  was  the  hostile  outfit 
he  was  in  search  of.  Returning  by  the  camp  of 
miners  on  the  Madison — about  twelve  miles  from 
Henry's  Lake — he  warned  them  of  the  situation, 
and  advised  vigilance  on  their  part.  They  ex- 
pressed perfect  confidence  in  their  ability  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  and  the  probability  is  that  they 
at  once  went  to  sleep.  Late  at  night  a  band  of 
Joseph's  scouts  came  down  the  trail,  discovered  the 
camp,  and,  after  locating  the  horses,  by  a  fusilade 
scattered  the  miners  and  made  off  with  their  horses, 
much  to  the  miners'  astonishment.  They  were  left 
afoot  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Madison  River. 

55 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

In  the  meantime,  a  military  force  of  seven  or 
eight  hundred  men,  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry, 
had  been  concentrated  and  was  following  these 
Indians,  at  this  time  about  two  days'  march  be- 
hind them.  The  next  heard  of  Joseph's  band  was 
at  the  Lower  Geyser  Basin,  near  which  they  sur- 
prised and  captured  a  party  of  tourists;  Mr.  Car- 
penter, his  wife  and  sister-in-law  and  four  or  five 
men  from  about  Helena,  Montana,  among  them 
Albert  Oldham,  whom  I  knew.  Chief  Joseph 
rescued  the  two  women  and  a  younger  brother  and 
protected  them.  The  young  bucks  commenced  a 
iusilade  on  the  men,  apparently  killing  Carpenter 
and  wounding  several  more — among  them  Albert 
Oldham — as  they  took  to  the  brush. 

As  it  turned  out,  Carpenter  was  merely  stunned 
by  a  scalp  wound,  and  afterward  revived,  and  he 
and  Oldham  were  taken  care  of  by  Howard's  men 
as  they  came  up.  On  reaching  the  vicinity  of  the 
Yellowstone,  Joseph's  scouts  surprised  another 
party  of  four  white  men  camped  just  above  Great 
Falls  and  killed  one  man,  the  others  escaping  to 
the  brush.  Before  fording  the  Yellowstone,  Chief 
Joseph  gave  the  two  white  women  a  pony  each  and 
started  them  down  the  trail  on  the  west  side  of  that 
stream.  At  the  pass  over  the  Mount  Washburn 
range,  they  met  a  scouting  party  of  cavalry  under 

56 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Lieut.  Schofield,  who  took  charge  of  them  and  de- 
livered them  at  Parrel's  ranch  at  the  mouth  of 
Trail  Creek.  Mrs.  Carpenter  then  supposed  her 
husband  had  been  killed. 

Two  of  the  men  who  escaped  through  the  timber 
when  fired  upon  at  their  camp  just  above  Great 
Falls,  had  reached  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs, 
where  they  met  McCartney.  One  of  these  men 
from  Helena  induced  McCartney  to  go  back  with 
him  and  try  to  find  his  friend,  who  on  taking  to 
the  brush  had  cried  out  to  those  in  front,  "I  am 
shot."  He  might  be  alive  and  wounded,  he 
thought.  McCartney  acceded  at  once.  They 
found  his  dead  friend — he  had  been  finished  by 
the  hostiles — buried  him  and  started  on  their 
return. 

The  trail  McCartney  and  companion  traveled, 
via  Tower  Falls,  branched  from  a  much  traveled 
trail,  coming  down  the  East  Fork  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, or  Lamar  River,  passing  that  stream  by 
Baronett's  Bridge.  As  soon  as  Chief  Joseph's  out- 
fit reached  the  East  Fork,  he  sent  a  strong  scout- 
ing party  down  the  trail  toward  the  Mammoth 
Hot  Springs,  and  to  the  lower  river,  thus  getting 
behind  McCartney  and  companion.  Five  miles 
below  these  springs,  at  the  mouth  of  Gardner's 
River,  was  Henderson's  ranch,  and  at  that  point 

57 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

was  a  scouting  party  of  eight  or  ten  citizens  occu- 
pying the  one  room-cabin,  and  bent  on  getting  a  lot 
of  Indian  ponies. 

The  Nez  Perces  scouting  party  pushed  on  to 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  on  the  2d  of  September, 
killing  one  man,  the  companion  of  the  man  with 
McCartney;  two  others — one  a  colored  man — 
escaping  to  the  brush.  They  pushed  on  toward  the 
Yellowstone  at  once.  It  was  Sunday  morning,  a 
warm,  pleasant  day,  and  the  "boys,"  having  noth- 
ing else  to  do,  determined  to  go  a-fishing  in  the 
Yellowstone  River,  about  three  hundred  yards 
away.  Their  horses  Were  picketed  near  the  cabin, 
their  rifles  and  camping  outfit  were  for  the  most 
part  in  the  cabin.  About  the  time  the  fish  began 
to  bite  freely,  the  Indian  scouting  party,  having 
made  a  quick  reconnaissance,  dashed  into  the  camp, 
swooped  up  the  horses,  set  fire  to>  the  cabin,  and 
were  away  on  the  back  trail  in  a  very  short  time. 

In  the  meantime,  McCartney  and  companion, 
en  their  return,  had  almost  reached  the  head  of  the 
trail,  coming  up  a  fork  of  Gardner's  River,  about 
three  miles  from  the  Hot  Springs.  McCartney 
told  me  that  when  about  fifty  yards  from  the  point 
where  the  trail  dropped  into  the  gorge  of  that 
stream,  he  was  met  by  a  band  of  loose  horses,  evi- 
dently driven.  As  they  came  over  the  hill  in  sight 

58 


'Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

of  McCartney,  they  stopped,  with  their  cars 
pricked  up.  McCartney  recognized  the  situation 
at  once  and  prepared  to  act.  In  the  meantime  the 
Indians,  noticing  the  action  of  the  horses,  rushed 
forward  and  opened  fire  on  McCartney  and  com- 
panion, who  by  this  time  were  in  full  run  to  a 
willow  thicket  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
up  the  valley.  They  were  not  hit,  and  in  a  short 
time  were  under  cover,  firing  back  at  the  Indians. 
These  had  no  time  to  waste,  and  cutting  the  lash 
rope  of  the  pack  animal,  took  only  the  horse. 

It  so  happened  that  Col.  Sturgis,  of  the  Seventh 
Cavalry,  who  was  then,  near  the  lower  outlet  of 
Clark's  Fort  Canon,  watching  for  the  Nez  Perces, 
had  sent  two  scouts  with  dispatches  for  General 
Howard,  who  was  following  up  the  Nez  Perces. 
In  moving  around  to  avoid  the  Indians,  they  had 
missed  General  Howard  and  were  on  the  way  to 
Fort  Ellis,  traveling  the  same  trail  by  which  this 
Indian  scouting  party  was  returning.  The  two 
parties  met  on  Black  Tail  Deer  Creek.  With  the 
two  scouts,  Goff  and  Leonard,  was  an  Indian  boy 
of  about  fifteen  years,  a  protege  of  Goff.  The 
Indians  discovered  the  approach  of  the  white  men, 
and  had  time  to  prepare  an  ambush  for  them. 
Some  of  them  hid  in  the  willow  brush  within  ten 
feet  of  the  trail ;  the  others  took  positions  on  a  hill, 

59 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

out  of  sight.  The  whites  came  along  unsuspicious 
of  danger,  until  the  party  in  ambush  fired.  The 
Indian  boy  fell  from  his  horse,  wounded,  drawing 
his  revolver  as  he  fell.  Leonard  had  his  horse 
killed.  He  immediately  cut  the  lash  rope  of  the 
pack  horse,  mounted  it,  and  he  and  Goff  took  the 
back  track  under  the  rapid  fire  of  the  whole  outfit. 
Goff  received  a  painful  flesh  wound  in  the  neck. 
As  soon  as  possible  they  plunged  down  a  gorge 
leading  to  the  Yellowstone,  and  were  not  followed 
further. 

On  the  river  they  met  a  white  scout,  who 
brought  them  into  the  camp  of  the  soldiers.  The 
body  of  the  Indian  boy  was  never  found,  nor  could 
any  information  as  to  his  fate  be  obtained  after- 
ward. In  my  spring  wagon  I  took  Goff  to  Fort 
Ellis,  and  obtained  these  particulars  from  him. 
Afterward,  while  carrying  a  dispatch  from  Fort 
Ellis  to  General  Howard,  Leonard  was  ambushed 
and  killed  by  these  same  Indians. 

The  foregoing  digression  has  been  made  as  to 
the  movements  of  the  Nez  Perces  in  order  to 
render  more  intelligible  what  follows. 

After  passing  through  the  lower  Yellowstone 
canon,  we  arrived  at  Fan-ell's  ranch  at  the  mouth 
of  Trail  Creek  in  the  forenoon  of  August  28.  At 

60 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

this  point  the  road  to  Bozeman  leaves  the  Yellow- 
stone. 

I  halted  here  to  await  developments.  I  found 
the  rumors  heard  within  the  last  week,  of  the  ad- 
vance of  the  hostile  Indians  through  the  National 
Park,  and  of  the  killing  of  the  tourists  that  fell 
into  their  hands,  were  mostly  true,  and  as  have 
been  told  in  the  retrospect  before  outlined. 

That  night  Mrs.  Cowan,  her  sister  and  a 
younger  brother  arrived.  They  were  then  sup- 
posed to  be  the  only  survivors  of  that  party  of 
about  ten  who  had  been  captured  near  the  Lower 
Geyser  Basin. 

On  the  night  of  the  29th  two  companies  of  the 
Second  Cavalry  arrived  from  Fort  Ellis.  About 
midnight  the  camp  was  aroused  by  the  attempt  of 
Indians  to  steal  horses.  They  were  met  by  a  vig- 
orous fire  and  were  driven  off.  On  Sept.  2,  Lieut- 
Col.  Gilbert,  of  the  Seventh  Infantry,  reinforced 
the  other  two  companies,  and  the  force  moved  up 
the  river.  During  this  time,  I  made  agreeable 
acquaintance  with  several  officers,  among  them 
Lieut.  H.  L.  Scott,  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  a 
friendship  which  has  been  kept  bright  ever  since, 
whether  as  Major  Scott  in  Cuba  and  the  Philip- 
pines, or  as  Colonel  Scott  of  the  West  Point  Mili- 
tary Academy.  During  this  time,  scouts  Goff  and 

61 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Leonard  and  Mr.  McCartney  and  companion,  who 
were  ambushed  by  the  hostile  scouts,  came  into 
the  camp. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  Colonel  Gilbert,  hav- 
ing failed  to  get  in  communication  with  Howard's 
command  by  the  Yellowstone  trail,  came  back 
through  the  second  Yellowstone  canon  and  went 
up  Miners  Creek  and  over  to  the  Madison  River. 
Had  he  delayed  one  day  longer  he  would  have 
learned  that  General  Howard  was  at  the  Yellow- 
stone Lake,  and  the  hostile  Indians  had  passed  on 
through  the  Park. 

After  this  movement  of  troops,  believing  it 
would  be  some  days  before  the  situation  could 
become  settled,  I  determined  to  go  back  to  Boze- 
man  and  await  developments.  I  took  Goif,  the 
wounded  scout,  with  me  as  far  as  Fort  Ellis. 

On  the  7th  of  September  I  had  the  satisfaction 
of  selling  old  Bones  to  Quartermaster  Adams,  for 
a  cavalry  horse,  to  be  forwarded  to  General 
Howard.  Good  luck  to  him. 

In  a  few  days  it  was  learned  the  hostile  Indians 
had  passed  through  the  National  Park,  followed 
by  Howard's  forces. 

As  there  was  still  time  to  make  a  hasty  trip 
through  the  Park  before  the  severe  winter  set  in, 
I  determined  to  do  so.  I  was  urged  not  to>  make 

62 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  attempt  on  account  of  the  hostiles1  sick  or 
wounded  that  might  have  been  left  behind,  and  of 
other  Indians.  I  recognized  the  risk,  hut  since  as 
a  youngster  I  had  served  during  the  Mexican  war 
as  a  mounted  volunteer  on  the  northwest  frontier 
of  Texas  against  the  Comanches,  and  all  the  bad 
Indians  of  the  Indian  Territory  and  of  the  Kansas 
Territory  who  infested  that  frontier,  I  had  some 
knowledge  of  Indian  ways.  Added  to  this,  was 
the  experience  of  four  years'  service  in  the  war 
between  the  States.  These  experiences,  qualified 
me  to  judge  of  the  credence  to  be  placed  in  war 
rumors.  I  was  anxious  to  make  the  trip. 

Only  one  man  of  suitable  qualities  could  be 
found  willing  to  make  the  trip — Jack  Bean.25  He 
knew  the  routes  through  the  Park ;  he  was  a  good 
packer  and  mountain  man,  cautious,  but  resolute. 
We  went  light.  I  rode  my  hunting  mare  Kate; 
Jack  his  horse,  and  we  packed  my  little  red  mule 
Dollie.  I  was  armed  with  a  .45-90-450  Sharpe 
long-range  rifle,  and  Jack  with  a  .44-40-200  re- 
peater. In  addition  to  a  belt  of  cartridges,  Bean 
carried  around  his  neck  a  shot  bag  pretty  full  of 
cartridges,  so  that  in  case  of  being  set  afoot,  they 
would  be  handy.  When  Dollie  was  packed  there 
was  not  much  visible  except  her  ears  and  feet. 

We  left  Bozeman  September  1 1,  and  nooned  in 
63 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  second  canon  of  the  Yellowstone  on  the  I3th. 
While  there,  a  portion  of  the  cavalry  that  accom- 
panied Colonel  Gilbert  on  his  trip  around  from 
the  head  of  the  Madison,  passed  down  toward 
Fort  Ellis,  having  with  them  Cowan  and  Albert 
Oldham,  who  had  survived  the  hostile  Indians 
near  the  Lower  Geysers. 

In  the  afternoon  we  passed  up  the  river,  by  the 
cabin  of  Henderson,  burned  by  hostiles,  turned  up 
Gardiner's  River  and  camped  within  three  miles  of 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs.  As  this  squad  of  cavalry 
passed  down,  we  were  conscious  that  we  had  to 
depend  entirely  on  our  own  resources  for  the 
remainder  of  the  trip,  for  there  was  probably  not 
another  white  man  in  the  Park.  A  note  in  my 
diary  says:  "International  rifle  match  com- 
mences to-day." 

Early  on  the  I4th  we  went  on  to  the  Hot 
Springs,  and  spent  two  or  three  hours  viewing  their 
beauties  and  wonders.  We  passed  by  the  cabin, 
in  the  door  of  which  the  Helena  man  had  been 
killed  a  few  days  before,  after  having  escaped  the 
attack  on  the  camp  above  the  Grand  Falls. 

Our  trail  passed  up  the  gorge  of  one  fork  of 
Gardiner's  River  in  sight  of  the  falls  of  that 
stream.  Just  beyond  where  the  trail  emerged  from 
the  gorge,  McCartney  and  his  companion  had  met 

64 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  hostile  scouts.  There  lay  their  pack  outfit, 
which  they  had  left  behind  on  the  2d  or  3d  of 
September,  as  before  narrated.  Among  the  aban- 
doned outfit  was  a  miner's  shovel,  which  these 
brave  men  had  taken  along  to  bury  their  friend,  if 
dead.  We  camped  that  night  on  the  lower  Black- 
tail  Creek. 

Early  on  the  following  day  we  passed  the  place 
where  Go>ff  and  Leonard,  the  two  scouts,  had  been 
ambuscaded.  The  willow  brush  was  all  "shot  up," 
and  near  the  trail  was  the  dead  sorrel  horse  that 
Leonard  had  ridden.  We  examined  the  vicinity 
of  this  ambuscade  for  the  brave  Indian  boy  who, 
as  he  fell,  was  seen  to  draw  his  revolver.  His 
body  was  not  found.  That  vicinity  was  afterward 
thoroughly  searched,  but  no  trace  of  this  boy 
could  be  found.  His  fate  has  not  been  revealed. 
During  the  day's  travel  there  were  splendid  moun- 
tain views  from  the  trail. 

In  the  afternoon  of  September  15,  the  trail  de- 
scended to  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  and  passed 
within  one  mile  of  Baronett's  Bridge,26  across 
which  Howard's  command  passed  on  the  5th  of 
September  in  pursuit  of  the  Nez  Perces.  We  soon 
dropped  into  the  trail  taken  by  that  command  and 
followed  it  back  to  Tower  Falls.  These  falls  are 
named  from  the  tower-like  ledges  of  rock  that 

6s 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

overhang  the  falls,  which  have  about  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Minnehaha  Falls  near  Minneapolis, 
with  a  single  drop  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet.  Just  before  dark  Jack  missed  one  of  the 
horses,  and  for  a  while  there  was  an  Indian  scare, 
but  fortunately  the  animal  had  only  wandered  a 
short  distance,  and  was  soon  recovered.  We  were 
a  little  more  sensitive  to  Indian  scares  since  two 
scouts  from  General  Howard's  command  had  been 
met  on  the  i3th,  who  reported  that  about  one 
hundred  Bannock  scouts  from  Lemhi  Agency  had 
deserted  Howard,  taking  along  more  horses  than 
belonged  to  them.  They  purposed  to  ford  the 
Yellowstone  about  ten  miles  above  the  Grand  Falls, 
where  the  Nez  Perces  crossed,  and  we  were  warned 
to  be  on  the  lookout  for  them,  as  they  were  in  a 
dangerous  temper.  Our  danger  would  come  when 
we  should  leave  the  Grand  Falls  and  pass  through 
some  open  country  in  the  direction  of  the  Lower 
Geyser  Basin  about  the  1 7th. 

It  rained  most  of  the  night  at  Tower  Falls — 
snowing  higher  up  on  the  mountains  to  be  crossed 
— but  on  the  whole,  we  had  a  quiet  night  and  sound 
sleep.  When  the  rain  ceased,  about  9  o'clock  A.M., 
September  1 6,  We  packed  up  and  began  the  ascent 
of  the  Mt.  Washburn  range.  For  a  few  miles  the 
trail  followed  an  open  ridge,  exposing  us  to  a 

66 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

northeast  blizzard,  accompanied  by  snow.  After 
descending  into  the  gulch,  up  which  the  trail  leads 
to  the  pass  in  the  range,  the  snow  became  deeper, 
and  toward  the  summit  of  the  range  it  was  eighteen 
or  twenty  inches,  knee-deep,  which  compelled 
us  to  dismount  and  lead  the  horses,  as  the  ascent 
was  very  hard  on  them.  In  view  of  future  possi- 
bilities, we  made  every  effort  to  save  their  strength. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  laborious  day's  work  of  my 
experience. 

When  near  the  summit,  going  through  open  pine 
timber,  we  discovered  a  large  bear  approaching  us. 
He  was  moving  along  the  side  of  the  steep  moun- 
tain to  the  left,  about  on  a  level,  and  would  have 
passed  out  of  safe  range.  I  immediately  dis- 
mounted and  cut  across  as  rapidly  as  the  snow  and 
the  ascent  admitted,  to  intercept  him.  He  had  not 
discovered  us.  When  within  about  one  hundred 
yards,  watching  my  opportunity  through  the  tim- 
ber, I  fired  at  his  side.  He  was  hit,  but  not  mor- 
tally. As  my  later  experience  told  me,  those  bears 
when  hit  always  either  roll  down  hill  or  go  "on 
the  jump."  On  the  jump  this  bear  came,  passing 
about  twenty  yards  in  our  front.  A  cartridge  was 
ready,  and  against  Jack's  injunction  "Don't  shoot," 
I  fired;  yet  it  failed  to  stop  him,  and  Jack  turned 
loose  with  his  repeater,  I  shooting  rapidly  with  my 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

rifle.  By  the  time  the  bear  had  reached  the  gulch 
he  stopped,  to  go  no  further. 

The  excitement  caused  by  this  incident  and  my 
enthusiasm  on  killing  my  first  grizzly — for  I 
claimed  the  bear — dispelled  at  once  all  feelings  of 
hardship  and  fatigue.  The  bear  was  a  grizzly  of 
about  four  hundred  pounds  weight,  fat  and  with  a 
fine  pelt.  We  had  not  time  to  skin  him,  nor  could 
the  hide  have  been  packed.  After  getting  a  few 
steaks,  a  piece  of  skin  from  over  the  shoulder  and 
one  of  his  forepaws,  we  continued  our  laborious 
ascent  of  the  mountain.  Still  excited  by  this  inci- 
dent, the  work  was  now  in  the  nature  of  a  labor 
of  love. 

Passing  over  the  summit  and  down  a  quarter  of 
a  mile,  through  snow  still  a  foot  deep,  there  were 
evident  fresh  pony  tracks  in  the  snow  on  the  trail, 
made  by  an  animal  that  had  passed  on  up  the  gulch 
to  our  right.  Jack  was  called  up,  and  as  we  were 
seriously  discussing  the  situation,  a  most  unearthly 
sound  proceeded  from  up  the  gulch,  which  caused 
us  to  grasp  our  rifles  and  feel  for  cartridge  belts. 
In  a  short  time  that  unearthly  blast  sounded  forth 
again,  from  the  same  direction,  but  this  time  end- 
ing with  a  "he-haw,  he-haw."  The  mystery  was 
dispelled;  the  voice  was  recognized.  It  was  the 
voice  of  the  army  mule.  He  had  discovered  by 

68 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

scent  the  presence  of  our  outfit,  and  soon  came  trot- 
ting down  the  trail,  the  embodiment  of  joy  and 
good  fellowship.  He  turned  out  to  be  a  big  Mis- 
souri or  Kentucky  mule,  sixteen  hands  high,  that 
had  broken  down  under  his  pack  and  had  been 
turned  loose  by  Howard's  command  and  was  en- 
deavoring to  follow  on.  He  was  a  very  forlorn 
looking  animal.  Our  council  of  war  decided  he 
would  soon  perish  in  these  deep  snows.  Jack  Bean 
said  the  A.  Q.  M.  at  Fort  Ellis  was  paying  $30 
for  delivery  of  all  such  animals.  I  told  him  that  I 
would  help  to  carry  him  along  and  he  could  get 
the  $30  for  him ;  so  we  took  him  along  and  camped 
as  soon  as  the  snow  became  so  little  deep  that  the 
horses  could  feed  in  a  small  meadow,  where  camp 
was  located. 

There  was  an  abundance  of  dry  pine,  and  a 
rousing  fire  to  dry  us  out  was  soon  in  full  blast. 
The  day  had  not  been  cold,  but  the  rain,  snow  and 
wind  made  it  appear  so.  We  made  fine  beds  of 
pine  boughs,  but  I  ate  too  much  bear  and  did  not 
rest  well.  That  bear  was  taking  post-mortem  re- 
venge on  each  of  us. 

We  reached  the  Grand  Falls  of  the  Yellowstone 
and  spent  a  part  of  the  morning  there.  I  have 
seen  Niagara,  Montmorency,  Minnehaha,  the 
Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  and  these  falls. 

69 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Niagara  is  pre-eminent  in  grandeur,  but  its  great 
volume  and  evidence  of  power  and  force  have 
always  inspired  me  with  a  feeling  of  fear  and 
dread.  The  falls  of  the  Missouri  are  next  in 
grandeur,  while  these  falls  are  a  combination  of 
the  grand  and  beautiful,  with  great  volume  in  times 
of  high  water  and  a  clear  width  of  about  150  feet 
and  3  60  feet  single  leap.  Professor  Hayden,  who 
first  measured  their  height,  gives  it  as  396  feet. 
The  canon  below  these  falls  is  not  less  notable  than 
the  falls  that  give  it  cause.  At  the  water  level  its 
width  is  about  250  feet;  from  above,  the  stream 
appears  like  a  silvery  thread.  From  the  water's 
edge  the  sides  of  the  canon  slope  back  at  an  angle 
of  35  degrees  to  45  degrees  and  to  a  height  of 
about  150  feet.27  To  the  feeling  called  forth  by 
the  grandeur  of  these  falls  is  added  that  of  admir- 
ation for  the  beautiful  and  varied  colorings  given 
out  by  their  geological  formations.28 

I  have  seen  all  the  many  canons  of  the  Con- 
tinental Divide  above  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 
None,  however,  compares  in  everything  that  makes 
these  wonders  of  nature  notable  and  grand,  with 
the  canon  of  the  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Yellowstone, 
just  above  the  debouchment  of  that  stream  from 
the  mountains.  Its  length  is  about  eighteen  miles. 
The  lower  six  miles  has  sides  sloping  on  the  east 

70 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

at  about  30  degrees,  the  high  peak  on  that  side 
being  about  3,000  feet  above  the  water  level,  there 
being  only  sufficient  room  in  the  canon  for  a  trail. 
The  upper  twelve  miles  of  the  canon  is  enclosed  by 
solid  walls  of  reddish  granite  almost  vertical,  with 
a  width  of  about  1,000  feet  at  top.  At  the  lower 
end  of  this  part  of  the  canon  the  height  of  the 
walls  is  about  1,500  feet  above  the  water  level,  as 
attested  by  a  railway  survey  up  the  western  side. 
In  this  part  large  masses  of  granite  are  found, 
some  of  at  least  300  cubic  yards  capacity,  whose 
angles  are  as  sharp  and  as  little  worn  as  if  dis- 
rupted from  the  cliffs  only  yesterday. 

The  caiion  has  one  unusual  feature;  a  tributary 
of  sufficient  volume  to  be  classed  as  a  river  ap- 
proaches from  the  south,  rushing  through  walls 
of  granite  100  feet  wide  at  the  top  and  600  feet 
deep,  and  leaps  out  from  the  wall  of  the  canon  at 
least  300  feet  above  water  level,  the  upper  200 
feet  being  a  beautiful  cascade.  The  lower  100 
feet  passes  over  broken  masses  of  granite  lying  at 
an  angle  of  about  40  degrees.  This  canon  lies 
out  of  the  traveled  route,  and  a  laborious  day's 
work  is  needed  to  ascend  and  descend  to  the  level 
of  the  valley  of  this  tributary. 

We  could  not  tarry  long  at  the  Great  Falls,  and 
took  only  a  look  at  the  second  falls,  about  one- 

71 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

quarter  of  a  mile  above  and  115  feet  clear  cascade. 
A  few  miles  further  on  we  passed  near  the  camp 
where  McCartney  had  buried  his  friend,  and 
thence  out  into  the  prairie,29  extending  to  the  mud 
geysers  up  stream,  and  away  to  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  Yellowstone  waters  and  Fire  Hole 
waters — the  head  of  Madison  River.  The  depth 
of  the  snow  and  other  circumstances  determined 
me  not  to  go  further  toward  Yellowstone  Lake,  for 
the  lake  was  no  novelty,  and  we  would  see  many 
geysers  on  the  route  chosen — to  the  Lower  Geyser 
Basin,  crossing  the  divide  at  the  head  of  Alum 
Creek.  Passing  through  a  good  deal  of  snow,  we 
camped  in  the  Alum  Creek  group  of  geysers,  at  the 
head  of  that  creek.  The  most  interesting  sight  in 
this  group  was  a  jet  of  steam  passing  up  through 
waters  of  the  creek,  making  a  noise  similar  to  that 
of  the  blower  of  a  locomotive. 

The  night  was  clear  and  cold,  freezing  water  to 
an  inch  depth.  We  slept  in  comfort  and  awoke 
with  a  dense  fog  enveloping  us,  caused  by  the 
steam  of  the  spluttering  geysers. 

On  September  17  we  climbed  the  mountain  to 
the  Pass  of  Mountains,  beyond  which  is  the  water- 
shed of  the  Fire  Hole  River.  Up  to  this  time  we 
had  been  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  Indian  sign, 
and  especially  on  the  qui  vive  for  the  band  of 

72 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

one  hundred  Bannock  scouts  reported  as  having 
deserted  General  Howard.  On  the  summit  we 
expected  to  strike  the  trail  where  they  would  prob- 
ably have  passed  if  in  this  part  of  the  Park. 

On  the  summit  of  the  range  we  crossed  this 
trail  and  were  gratified  to  find  no  sign  of  anything 
passing  after  that  made  by  Colonel  Gilbert's  cav- 
alry in  its  effort  to  overtake  General  Howard's 
command. 

We  descended  into  the  valley  of  the  East  Fork 
of  Fire  Hole  River — now  named  Nez  Perce  Creek 
— by  the  wagon  road  cut  out  by  Howard's  com- 
mand, and  were  soon  out  of  the  snow;  for  the 
valley  of  Fire  Hole  is  nearly  one  thousand  feet 
lower  than  the  Yellowstone  River  above  the  falls. 
We  passed  near  the  scene  of  the  massacre  of  a 
portion  of  the  Cowan  party  before  alluded  to. 
We  also  scared  up  one  or  two  wild  Indian  ponies, 
left  by  the  hostiles,  that  by  their  speed  and  activity 
to  avoid  the  white  man,  showed  no  evidence  of 
wishing  to  be  rescued,  as  had  the  lone  army  mule. 
This  was  an  unpleasant  sign.  Reaching  the  lower 
Fire  Hole  Basin  before  noon,  we  went  into  camp, 
and  devoted  the  remainder  of  the  day  to  visiting 
various  geysers  of  this  wonderful  formation, 
against  the  advice  of  Bean,  who  was  for  camping 
that  night  at  the  upper  geysers  ten  miles  further  on. 

73 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Having  seen  no  Indian  sign  in  the  day's  travel 
except  the  ponies,  we  had  a  quiet  and  restful  night, 
and  by  noon  on  the  1 8th  we  were  among  the  Upper 
Geyser  group  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day 
in  wonder  and  admiration  of  what  was  seen. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I9th  we  packed  up  and 
started  on  our  return  trip  to  Bo>zeman.  After 
nooning  at  Lower  Geysers,  we  passed  on  down 
the  Fire  Hole  Valley.  In  about  five  miles  a  fresh 
pony  track  was  noticed  coming  in  from  the  west 
side  and  at  a  trot.  In  a  short  distance  another 
pony  track  was  observed  going  in  the  opposite 
direction  and  leaving  the  trail  to  the  west.  This 
was  interpreted  as  meaning  that  a  party  of  Indians 
for  some  cause  had  been  left  behind  by  the  hostiles, 
and  that  they  were  hidden  in  the  dense  pine  timber 
west  of  the  trail,  and  had  sent  out  scouts  to  watch 
the  trail.  We  acted  on  this  suggestion,  and  pushed 
on  as  fast  as  the  jaded  condition  of  our  animals 
would  admit — at  a  trot — passing  through  the 
upper  canon  of  the  Madison,  admirable  for  its 
facilities  for  an  ambush  as  well  as  for  its  grand 
scenery.  On  emerging  from  this  canon,  we  left  all 
trails,  crossed  the  Madison  and  about  sundown 
camped  on  a  bluff  with  an  outlook  to  our  rear, 
having  traveled  this  day  at  least  thirty-five  miles. 
The  plan  adopted  was  to  go  into  camp,  cook 

74 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

supper,  and  after  dark,  replenishing  the  camp-fire, 
travel  about  two  hours  through  the  timber  and 
make  a  dry  camp. 

While  Bean  was  attending  to  camp  duties,  I 
went  back  far  enough  to  command  a  view  of  five 
hundred  yards  to  the  rear,  across  the  Madison,  and 
with  a  field  glass  kept  a  good  lookout  for  hostile 
signs,  but  detected  none.  In  accordance  with  the 
plan,  we  traveled  about  two  hours  through  thick 
pine  timber  and  made  camp  in  a  little  meadow 
sufficient  for  horse  feed. 

During  this  night's  tramp  we  occasionally 
jumped  small  bands  of  antelope  feeding  on  little 
patches  of  open  ground.  This  was  the  only  in- 
stance in  my  twenty-five  years'  experience  among 
these  animals  when  I  found  them  using  in  timber. 
Afterward  I  saw  a  buck  antelope  near  the  Lower 
Geyser  Basin.30  With  an  early  start,  we  break- 
fasted near  the  Madison.  We  nooned  in  the 
upper  canon,  having  a  feast  of  trout  and  whitefish, 
the  first  square  meal  we  had  had  since  the  start 
from  Bozeman,  except  bacon  and  grizzly.  Pass- 
ing out  of  the  canon,  we  camped  near  the  point 
where  the  Nez  Perces  had  set  afoot  the  scouting 
party  before  related.  We  were  now  out  of  reach 
of  Indian  scares,  and  in  the  prairie  country  on  the 
Upper  Madison. 

75 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Before  entering  the  upper  canon  on  the  2ist  of 
September  it  was  necessary  to  decide  on  one  of 
two  routes  to  Bozeman.  One,  and  the  shortest, 
was  over  a  high  mountain  divide  to  the  head  of 
the  West  Gallatin  River,  and  thence  down  that 
stream;  the  other  to  continue  down  the  Madison 
River.  I  was  tired  of  climbing  mountains  and 
wallowing  through  snow,  and  chose  to  go  down 
hill,  so  we  took  the  last  route. 

Our  camp  on  the  2ist  was  near  a  large  fork  of 
the  Madison,  just  above  its  junction  with  that 
stream  above  the  upper  canon.  It  was  a  beautiful 
valley,  and  on  that  day  was  literally  full  of  ante- 
lope; in  fact,  in  my  entire  sojourn  in  the  North- 
west, I  have  never  seen  more  antelope  than  in  the 
forenoon  of  that  day. 

On  the  22d  we  met  the  first  white  face  since  the 
1 3th,  a  Frenchman,  on  his  way  as  a  scout  to 
Henry's  Lake.  With  him  Bean  made  a  trade  for 
the  army  mule  we  had  still  all  safe,  whereby  he  was 
to  deliver  the  mule  at  Fort  Ellis.  After  traveling 
down  the  upper  valley  of  the  Madison  during  the 
22d  and  23d,  we  reached  Whitney's  ranch  across  the 
river  from  the  Bozeman  and  Virginia  City  road. 
At  this  camp  we  got  plenty  of  milk  and  thirty-two 
eggs,  which  we  divided  equally  between  us.  Bean 
ate  his  half,  sixteen  eggs,  that  night  and  the  fol- 

76 


Memories  of  a  Rear  Hunter 

lowing  morning — eight  hard-boiled  eggs  at  a  sit- 
ting. No  ill-effects  were  heard  of  during  the  night. 
I  took  my  sixteen  eggs  in  broken  doses. 

We  here  received  late  papers  telling  how  the 
Nez  Perces  had  out-maneuvered  Colonel  Sturgis 
of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  and  of  their  escape. 

On  the  24th  we  crossed  the  Madison,  and 
dropped  into  the  wagon  road  leading  to  Bozeman 
from  Virginia  City.  Here  some  alarm  was  caused 
by  our  pack  mule,  Dollie,  to  which  after  getting 
into  the  open  country,  we  had  not  paid  much  at- 
tention, for  we  had  allowed  her  to  trot  on  behind 
at  will.  As  before  remarked,  when  packed  for  the 
road  there  was  nothing  visible  except  her  ears  and 
feet  under  a  pile  of  bedding  with  a  white  wagon 
sheet  on  top.  Soon  after  getting  on  to  the  Boze- 
man road,  we  met  twelve  empty  farm  wagons  that 
had  been  hired  by  General  Howard  to  carry  the 
impedimenta  of  his  command,  had  been  paid  off 
and  were  on  their  way  to  their  homes  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Rockies.  We  stopped  the  head  team, 
passed  the  news  and  went  ahead.  In  a  short  time 
was  heard  a  tremendous  clattering  and  rumpus 
behind.  On  looking  back,  there  was  Dollie  trot- 
ting along,  innocent  and  apparently  careless  of  her 
surroundings.  As  the  lead  wagon  was  met,  the 
horses,  after  being  kept  in  the  road  a  short  time, 

77 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

could  not  be  held,  but  bolted  to  the  right  on  the 
full  run.  The  next  wagon  followed  suit  at  the 
proper  time  until  the  entire  outfit  of  twelve  wagons 
was  on  a  rampage,  tearing  through  the  fortunately 
open  and  level  prairie,  Dollie  in  the  meantime 
keeping  the  center  of  the  road.  To  all  the  wit- 
nesses to  this  scene  it  was  most  amusing  and  ludi- 
crous, a  scare  caused  by  an  innocent,  patient  and 
careless  little  pack  mule,  who  had  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  her  fearful  looking  makeup.  That 
scene  caused  its  only  two  witnesses  to  forget  for  a 
time  at  least  all  the  labors  and  hardships  and  risks 
from  hostiles  and  snowstorms  of  the  past  ten  days. 

Without  occurrence  of  especial  interest,  we 
reached  Bozeman  on  September  26,  after  an 
absence  of  fifteen  days,  having  traveled  on  an 
average  twenty  miles  per  day. 

To  me,  this  was  the  most  eventful  trip,  for  its 
duration,  of  my  long  sojourn  among  the  North- 
western mountains,  whether  be  considered  the  un- 
questioned danger  from  hostile  Indians,  the 
scarcely  slighter  danger  from  the  storms  and  deep 
snows  among  these  mountains,  or  the  exposure,  the 
labor  and  hardships  incident  to  traveling  five  days 
through  snow  from  five  to  twenty  inches  deep,  the 
only  shelter  from  the  storms  at  night  during  the 
trip  being  that  afforded  by  a  small  wagon  sheet. 

78 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  felt  fully  compensated,  however,  for  all  these 
risks  and  hardships  by  the  privilege  of  viewing  the 
canons  of  the  Yellowstone  and  the  Madison,  those 
beautiful  and  grand  falls  at  Tower  Creek,  and  at 
the  Yellowstone,  the  indescribable  wonders  of  the 
upper  and  lower  geyser  basins;  and  last,  though 
not  least,  by  the  opportunity  afforded  of  killing 
my  first  grizzly. 


1878 

After  seven  months  spent  in  civilization  about 
St.  Louis  and  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  my  soul 
began  once  more  to  long  for  the  wilds  of  the 
Northwest.  I  did  not  greatly  strive  to  resist  the 
temptation,  and  after  a  short  time  returned  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Missouri  River. 

It  was  July  17,  1878,  when  I  left  Chicago*  on 
the  steamer  Peerless,  for  the  lake  trip.  Touching 
at  Mackinac,  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Houghton,  I 
reached  Duluth.  I  left  there  July  28,  and  in  due 
time  reached  Bismarck.  The  next  steamer  to  leave 
for  the  upper  river  was  the  Red  Cloud,  on  which 
I  took  passage  August  7.  We  reached  Cow  Island 
Rapids  August  24,  and  just  here  I  did  not  know 
precisely  what  to  do.  However,  after  a  time, 
through  the  kindness  of  Colonel  George  Clenden- 
nin,  I  arranged  to  make  a  hunt  for  the  fall  months 
with  an  Englishman,  Mr.  C.  Messiter,  who  was 
expected  to  arrive  by  the  next  steamer. 

We  were  to  start  from  Carroll,  a  landing  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  not  far  above  the  mouth 

80 


Memories  of  a  Bear  tiunter 

of  the  Musselshell  River,  and  to  hunt  in  the  foot- 
hills of  the  mountain  enclosing  the  famous  Judith 
Basin  on  the  head  of  the  Judith  River,  which 
enters  the  Missouri  above  Cow  Island.31 

At  that  time  game  was  abundant  here — deer, 
elk  and  buffalo,  with  a  few  antelope.32 

Colonel  Clendennin  arranged  for  a  two-horse 
wagon  and  team,  saddle  horses,  a  guide,  teamster 
and  cook,  the  expense  to  be  divided  between  Mes- 
siter  and  myself.  I  left  Cow  Island  on  the  steamer 
Benton,  September  2,  and  reaching  Carroll  the 
next  day,  found  all  the  outfit  ready,  except  Mes- 
siter,  some  tents  and  other  camp  fixtures. 

It  was  understood  that  I  should  take  the  outfit 
away  from  the  river  about  three  days'  travel  to  the 
base  of  the  Judith  Mountains,  make  camp  there 
and  then  send  the  team  back  for  Messiter,  the  tents 
and  other  baggage. 

Colonel  Clendennin  had  arranged  that  I 
should  purchase  a  horse  belonging  to>  a  wood- 
chopper,  Pike  Landusky,33  who  had  a  woodyard 
across  the  river  from  Carroll.  The  day  after  my 
arrival  I  crossed  the  river,  and  after  a  few  miles' 
search  found  Landusky,  inspected  the  horse,  liked 
his  looks  and  paid  his  price.  I  took  him  with  me, 
swimming  him  across  the  river  from  the  rear  of 
the  dugout  in  which  I  sat.  He  turned  out  to  be 

81 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

an  excellent  animal,  well  trained  for  hunting.  If 
you  respected  his  prejudices,  he  was  gentle  enough; 
if  you  did  not,  he  was  certain  to  buck  you  off,  as 
more  than  once  he  did  me. 

Our  outfit  consisted  of  Fishel  as  guide;  Hayden, 
teamster,  and  Derby,  cook.  The  two-horse  wagon 
was  drawn  by  a  pair  of  white  horses,  which  I  after- 
ward purchased  in  the  division  of  the  outfit  and 
used  them  as  pack  animals  until  they  died  on  the 
Grey  Bull  ranch.  For  three  days  we  traveled 
through  the  Bad  Lands,  finding  only  alkali  water, 
and  no  wood,  except  greasewood.  It  rained 
almost  every  day.  Our  protection  at  night  was  an 
ordinary  wagon  sheet,  stretched  as  a  tent.  We 
had  carried  from  Carroll  a  few  sticks  of  wood  in 
the  wagon,  but  were  saving  of  our  fuel.  We  were 
not  very  comfortable. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  day  we  met  a  few  buf- 
falo, the  leaders  of  a  large  herd  that  during  the 
summer  and  fall  had  been  occupying  the  Judith 
Basin,  and  now  as  it  happened  were  moving  out 
before  a  party  of  Crows  and  Chief  Tendoy's34 
band  of  Bannock  Indians  from  the  Lemhi  Agency 
west  of  the  Rockies. 

On  the  9th  of  September  we  camped  on  Box 
Elder  Creek,  and  here  found  the  first  fresh  water 
met  with,  and  a  fair  amount  of  wood.  Here  we 

to 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

found  large  bands  of  buffalo  and  I  killed  what  was 
needed  for  .meat  by  running  them  on  horseback. 
The  next  day  made  a  good  drive  to  a  camp  on 
Armell's  Creek,35  near  the  foot  of  the  Judith 
Mountains,  and  here  I  determined  to  remain  until 
Messiter  should  come  up,  sending  back  Hayden 
and  the  team  for  him  if  necessary. 

On  this  day  I  killed  two  buffalo  bulls  for  bear 
bait,  and  Fishel  in  different  localities  killed  two. 
We  killed  also  several  antelope  and  deer  for  camp 
meat.  On  the  following  day,  while  hunting  for 
elk,  I  climbed  one  end  of  the  Judith  Mountains36 
and  had  a  magnificent  view  across  the  valley  of 
the  Missouri,  with  the  Bear  Paw  and  Little  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  north  and  the  Moccasin  Moun- 
tains on  the  west.  The  Missouri  is  about  forty 
miles  distant  and  the  Bear  Paw  and  Little  Rock- 
ies about  seventy  miles. 

My  hunting  companion,  C.  Messiter,  reached  us 
on  September  13.  He  had  been  sent  out  by  Major 
Reed's37  team  with  all  his  baggage. 

When  we  arose  on  the  morning  of  September 
14  we  found  about  three  inches  of  snow  on  the 
ground,  and  a  little  later  Fishel,  who  had  been 
looking  over  the  country  with  the  field  glasses,  re- 
ported that  the  carcass  of  one  of  the  buffalo*  had 
been  moved.  We  rode  out  toward  the  carcass,  and 

83 


Hunting  at  High  Attitudes 

on  climbing  on  a  bench  of  the  mountain  about  a 
mile  from  the  bait,  discovered  a  large  bear,  which 
had  evidently  seen  or  smelt  us,  making  o«ff  in  the 
opposite  direction.  We  followed  him  in  the  effort 
to  get  ahead  of  him,  but  he  was  too  swift  for  us. 

The  snow  was  melting  and  the  trail  becoming 
difficult  to  follow.  I  became  separated  from  Fishel 
and  Messiter,  and  they  first  found  the  trail,  and 
followed  it  until  it  entered  a  dense  willow  thicket 
on  a  small  creek.  They  rode  around  it  to  see 
whether  the  bear  had  gone  on,  and  when  on  the 
opposite  side  a  huge  bear  rushed  out  and  charged 
them  fiercely.  At  first  the  horses  did  not  wholly 
comprehend  the  situation,  and  the  bear  was  close  to 
their  heels  before  they  began  to  run.  Fishel 
started  back  to  the  camp,  to  bring  out  a  greyhound 
that  Messiter  had  brought  with  him.  I  met  him, 
and  learning  what  had  happened,  I  hurried  to  the 
scene  of  action  and  found  Messiter  already  on  a 
high  rocky  point  overlooking  the  thicket,  his  horse 
being  tied  some  distance  further  away.  The  clump 
of  willows  was  dense  and  extended  about  a  hun- 
dred yards  up  and  down  the  small  stream,  and 
was  fifty  yards  across.  The  stream,  which  was 
six  or  eight  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep,  meandered 
through  the  willows. 

Across  the  thicket  we  held  a  council  of  war  and 
84 


'Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

determined  to  stir  the  bear  out.  We  thought  that 
we  could  shoot  through  the  brush  with  solid  balls, 
and  if  we  wounded  him  he  might  be  angry  enough 
to  rush  out.  I  rode  up  to  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  thicket  on  my  side,  but  failed  to  hear  any 
movement  in  it.  Messiter,  however,  had  some 
idea  of  where  the  bear  lay,  and  it  was  determined 
that  we  should  fire  into  that  locality  from  each 
side  and  see  if  that  would  induce  him  to  move 
about.  About  this  time  Fishel  arrived  with  the 
greyhound,  but  no  orders  or  persuasion  could  get 
him  into  the  thicket. 

Messiter  and  I  now  began  to  bombard  the  place 
where  the  bear  was  supposed  to  be.  I  was  shoot- 
ing a  45O-grain  solid  ball  with  90  grains  of  powder, 
and  this  penetrated  the  willow  brush  admirably. 
On  the  other  hand,  Messiter's  rifle  was  a  double- 
barreled  Long  rifle,  carrying  a  i6o-grain  express 
bullet,  with  120  grains  of  powder.  This  bullet 
was  too  light  to  penetrate  far.  We  finally  made 
his  hiding  place  so  warm  that  he  rushed  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  thicket  and  charged  fiercely  out 
to  Messiter's  side.  Each  one  of  us  got  in  a  shot 
and  each  wounded  him,  when  he  retired  to  the 
thicket  and  again  lay  still.  Messiter  now  left  his 
perch,  mounted  his  horse  and  came  up  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  thicket.  The  stream  bottom 

85 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

outside  the  willows  was  covered  with  rose  bushes 
and  buck  brush  about  as  high  as  the  horse's  belly, 
and  this  made  it  difficult  for  a  horse  to  turn  quickly. 
The  bear  was  evidently  wounded.  All  we  could 
hear  was  his  breathing.  We  approached  the  edge 
of  the  willows  as  close  as  we  dared,  and  by  shoot- 
ing at  the  sound  of  his  breathing,  kept  his  vicinity 
pretty  warm.  The  bear  watched  his  opportunity, 
crept  to  the  edge  of  the  thicket  on  my  side  and 
rushed  out  at  me.  I  fired,  but  over-shot  him,  for 
he  came  on  and  was  close  to  my  horse's  heels  be- 
fore he  could  turn.  I  stood  not  on  the  order  of  my 
going,  but  went  as  fast  as  spurs  could  persuade  the 
horse.  In  the  scrimmage  I  lost  my  hat,  and  be- 
fore the  horse  could  be  controlled — for  he  was 
thoroughly  frightened — and  another  shot  deliv- 
ered, the  bear  had  returned  to  his  place  of  conceal- 
ment. Still  guided  by  the  sound  of  his  breathing, 
we  continued  the  bombardment  and  induced  him 
to  move.  In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  he  crept 
along  the  bed  of  the  little  creek  to  the  edge  of  the 
thicket  near  the  point  where  I  was  stationed,  and 
watching  his  opportunity  charged  out  at  me  the 
second  time.  As  he  approached,  I  again  made  a 
shot  in  the  chest  with  a  solid  ball,  which  dropped 
him  in  his  tracks,  and  in  such  a  fashion  that  I 
shouted,  "I  have  got  him !"  but  it  was  not  so,  for 

86 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

before  I  could  load  and  give  him  a  second  shot, 
about  fifteen  feet  off,  he  was  up  again  and  rushed 
for  me.  My  horse  barely  got  out  of  the  reach  of 
his  claws  before  getting  headway,  though  as  a 
matter  of  precaution  he  was  headed  outward.  We 
had  now  spent  more  than  two  hours  about  this  bear 
and  a  blinding  snowstorm  had  begun,  which  made 
it  more  difficult  to  hear  or  see  him  as  he  moved 
about  in  the  thicket.  He  was  evidently  badly 
wounded  in  the  lungs.  For  some  time  we  kept  up 
the  bombardment,  but  accomplished  nothing  since 
we  had  to  aim  wholly  by  guess.  A  council  was 
held  then  as  to  whether  on  foot  we  should  boldly 
approach  him  or  wait  until  morning,  when  we  felt 
sure  he  would  be  found  dead.  We  finally  con- 
cluded that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor. 
Had  we  ventured  in  on  foot  and  the  bear  possessed 
a  little  more  vitality  than  anticipated,  we  should 
have  stood  no  chances  against  such  an  infuriated 
monster  in  brush  so  thick  as  to  prevent  the  effective 
use  of  our  rifles. 

We  now  reluctantly  withdrew,  and  reached 
camp,  about  two  miles  away,  at  half  past  five 
o'clock.  We  were  wet  from  the  driving  snow- 
storm and  disappointed  that  we  had  been  obliged 
to  leave  the  bear  hide  on  the  carcass.  A  hot  sup- 
per revived  our  spirits,  and  after  it,  although  the 

87 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

snow  still  fell,  we  gathered  about  a  huge  camp-fire 
and  spent  the  time  in  discussing  the  events  of  the 
evening  fight  and  remarking  upon  the  size,  fierce- 
ness and  great  vitality  of  the  brute.  The  only 
bear  met  with  in  subsequent  years  which  was  the 
equal  of  this  one  in  ferocity  was  the  one  killed 
in  1880  near  the  north  fork  of  Stinking  Water. 
This  will  be  mentioned  in  its  proper  place. 

After  a  good  night,  which  seemed  more  com- 
fortable by  contrast  with  the  storm  without,  and 
a  warm  breakfast,  we  mounted  our  horses  ten  go 
back  to  the  bear.  At  the  buffalo  carcass  it  was 
found  that  a  bear  and  two  cubs  had  visited  it,  and 
these  we  purposed  to  look  for  later.  At  the 
thicket  everything  seemed  quiet.  Messiter  and  I 
gave  our  horses  to  Fishel  to  hold,  and  pushed  our 
way  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the  locality 
where  the  bear  had  been  left  behind  the  evening 
before.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to  guard 
against  a  surprise,  but  when  we  reached  the  middle 
of  the  thicket  and  carefully  pushed  aside  the  wil- 
lows, there,  in  a  hastily  improvised  bed,  the  brute 
lay  stiff  and  stark.  He  was  one  of  the  largest  of 
grizzly  bears,  brownish  in  color,  gradually  turning 
grizzly  or  silver-tipped,  and  in  two  months  more 
would  have  been  called  a  silver-tip  bear.  Standing 
on  all  fours  he  would  have  been  three  and  a  half 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

feet  high  at  the  shoulders  and  seven  or  seven  and 
a  half  from  the  end  of  his  nose  to  the  end  of  his 
tail.  Standing  erect  on  his  hind  feet  he  would 
have  measured  eight  feet  high  with  his  head  level. 
He  was  in  good  order,  but  not  fat,  and  would  have 
weighed  about  six  hundred  pounds.  Though  not 
as  well  furred  as  he  would  have  been  later  in  the 
winter,  his  robe  was  a  large  one.  After  skinning 
the  bear,  Messiter  and  Fishel  took  up  the  trail  of 
the  mother  and  cubs,  while  I  carried  the  skin  to 
camp.  The  trail  was  followed  until  the  sun  had 
set,  and  the  two  hunters  then  returned. 

We  remained  in  this  camp  until  the  i8th  of 
September  to  allow  the  robes  to  dry.  There  were 
many  deer  about,  and  we  killed  enough  for  food. 

Our  next  camp  was  at  Warm  Spring  Creek, 
about  ten  miles  distant  in  an  air  line,  but  twelve  or 
fifteen  by  the  route  we  were  obliged  to  follow. 
This  is  a  bold  running  stream  when  it  leaves  the 
mountains,  but  in  autumn  it  sinks  at  the  crossing 
of  the  Carroll  and  Helena  roads.  The  camp 
selected  was  in  the  canon  where  the  creek  leaves  the 
mountains,  a  spot  well  sheltered  from  storms,  with 
an  abundance  of  dry  wood  and  pure  water.  It  was 
an  ideal  camping  site,  the  more  desirable  as  the 
time  was  approaching  when  snowstorms  might  be 
expected.  The  Judith  Basin  at  this  time  was  a 

89 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

great  locality  for  game,  especially  for  the  white- 
tail  and  the  mule  deer.  There  were  a  few  bands 
of  elk  and  some  large  bears.  The  Basin  is  shut 
in  by  mountains,  except  to  the  northeast.  On  the 
northwest  it  is  bordered  by  the  Highwood  Moun- 
tains, while  the  Snowy  and  the  Judith  Mountains 
help  to  close  it  on  the  south  and  southeast. 

During  the  autumn  the  Basin  was  frequented  by 
large  bands  of  buffalo,  and  the  presence  of  these 
attracted  to  the  hunting  grounds  friendly  Indians 
from  west  of  the  mountains.  For  many  years  it 
was  the  practice  of  the  Government  to  permit  the 
Nez  Perces,  Bannocks  and  other  friendly  tribes  to 
come  through  the  mountains  to  hunt  buffalo  for 
their  winter's  meat.  This  season  the  Nez  Perces 
had  already  come  and  gone,  and  the  only  Indians 
here  were  a  band  of  Crows,  and  sixty-five  lodges 
of  Bannocks  under  Chief  Tendoy,  a  firm  and  well 
tried  friend  of  the  whites.  Tendoy  and  Washaki 
of  the  Shoshoni,  saw  far  enough  before  them  to 
realize  that  it  was  best  for  the  Indians  to  be  on 
terms  of  friendship  with  the  whites.  At  this  very 
time  a  band  of  Bannocks  were  on  the  war  path, 
and  for  fear  Tendoy's  band  might  be  disturbed 
by  whites,  the  War  Department  had  detailed 
Lieut.  Jerome,38  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  and  four 
men,  to  camp  with  these  Indians  as  a  protection. 

90 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

We  remained  for  ten  days  at  the  camp  on  Warm 
Spring  Creek  without  succeeding  in  seeing  any 
grizzly  bears.  Along  the;  stream  in  the  foothills 
deer,  especially  white-tails,  were  very  abundant. 
My  notes  say  that  in  one  day  thirty-two  white-tails 
were  seen.  They  were  not  wild,  but  quick  shooting 
was  required  to  get  one  when  routed  out  of  its  bed. 
Still,  it  was  not  difficult  to  keep  the  camp  in  meat, 
although  five  healthy  men  living  an  outdoor  life 
consumed  a  good  deal.  Besides  this,  we  supplied 
Tendoy  and  his  outfit  with  quite  a  number  of  deer. 

During  this  time,  Messiter  visited  the  Bannock 
camp,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  trading  off  one  of 
his  horses  bought  at  Carroll,  and  incidentally  to 
see  Indian  ways  and  to  learn  something  about  the 
hostile  Bannocks,  who  were  reported  to  be  coming 
our  way  from  the  Lemhi  reservation.  He  took 
with  him  my  bear  skin  to  be  dressed  by  the  Ban- 
nocks, who  have  not  that  fear  of  handling  bear 
skins  that  the  Crows  have.39 

The  next  day  Messiter  returned  mounted  on  a 
handsome,  well-built  and  high-headed  gray  horse, 
which  he  had  received  in  exchange  for  a  Winches- 
ter rifle  and  $30,  in  the  Crow  camp.  I  wondered 
why  these  Indians  had  parted  with  such  a  fine 
horse,  but  was  not  long  in  learning  the  reason,  for 
the  next  day,  when  we  started  out  on  a  hunt,  he 

91 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

bucked  off  his  new  owner,  giving  him  a  high  fall, 
but  as  it  happened  without  injury.  It  still  remains 
a  mystery  why  this  horse  had  waited  for  a  day  to 
display  his  accomplishments,  instead  of  doing  so  in 
the  presence  of  his  new  and  old  masters,  and  before 
the  bargain  had  been  completed.  An  Indian  will 
not  keep  a  bucking  horse  long,  and  this  horse 
proved  to  be  very  troublesome.  Besides  bucking 
off  his  rider  he  would  constantly  pull  up  his  picket 
pin  and  be  gone  several  days,  being  usually  found 
tangled  up  in  a  thicket.  He  was  never  of  any  use. 

The  Indians  often  visited  our  camp  and  ate  with 
us.  Sometimes  we  gave  them  one  or  two  deer 
carcasses  that  hung  up  in  the  camp.  I  was  inter- 
ested in  their  method  of  packing  it.  After  remov- 
ing the  head,  all  the  bones  were  taken  out  of  the 
carcass,  leaving  the  meat  attached  to  the  hide. 
Then  by  rolling  the  meat  in  the  hide,  it  was  easily 
tied  behind  the  saddle.  The  long  experience  of 
the  savage  taught  the  white  man  a  new  trick. 
Usually  the  white  man  lashes  the  stiff  carcass,  with 
all  its  projections  of  legs,  head  and  horns,  on  his 
saddle,  and  then  perhaps  walks,  leading  his  riding 
horse  for  miles. 

In  hunting  here  where  game  was  so  abundant,  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  express 
ball  on  these  animals  up  to  the  size  of  the  elk. 

92 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Before  leaving  the  East  that  year  I  had  deter- 
mined to  try  the  express  principle  with  a  long- 
range  Sharps  rifle,  the  finest  made,  which  carried 
a  .44-caliber  ball  in  a  shell  holding  90  or  100 
grains  of  powder,  the  latter  being  introduced  by 
means  of  a  reloading  tube  about  thirty  inches  in 
length.  The  ammunition  furnished  by  the  Sharps 
factory  carried  a  450  and  500  grain  solid  ball.  It 
is,  of  course,  understood  that  the  gunpowder  was 
black  powder. 

British  rifle  makers  have  demonstrated  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  express  bullet,  Henry  of  Edinburgh 
having  received  the  greatest  credit  on  account  of 
his  exhaustive  experiments  on  living  animals.  This 
maker  was  the  inventor  of  the  Henry  system  of 
cutting  the  rifling,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Eng- 
lish government  for  the  Martini-Henry  musket. 

The  express  system  is  the  combination  of  a  solid 
bullet  with  a  hole  of  varying  diameter  running 
back  from  the  point  of  the  bullet  about  three- 
fourths  of  the  ball's  length.  The  diameter  and 
length  of  the  hole  depends  in  some  degree  on  the 
caliber  and  weight  of  the  bullet.  Such  a  bullet, 
with  a  heavy  charge  of  powder  behind  it,  giving 
a  muzzle  velocity  of  from  1,750  to  2,000  feet, 
constitutes  an  express  bullet.  A  suitably  designed 
ball  with  this  velocity,  after  penetrating  the  skin  of 

93 


Hunting  at  High  'Altitudes 

the  animal,  bursts  into  many  small  fragments  with 
sufficient  momentum  for  these  fragments  to  reach 
the  opposite  ribs  of  the  animal  and  make  a  dozen 
perforations  of  the  vitals,  instead  of  a  single  large 
perforation,  as  in  the  case  of  a  solid  ball.  The 
express  bullet  expends  its  momentum  on  the  vitals 
in  a  space  about  equal  to  a  circle  with  a  six-inch 
diameter,  whereas  the  solid  ball  makes  a  clean  cut 
hole  of  the  caliber  of  the  bullet,  which,  passing 
wholly  through  the  animal,  expends  much  of  its 
energy  after  it  has  passed  out. 

The  bursting  front  end  of  the  express  bullet  is 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  sudden  compression 
of  the  air  in  the  hole  after  the  ball  strikes  the 
obstacle  of  the  animal's  flesh.  A  similar  result 
appears  to  occur  in  shooting  into  water,  as  I  have 
se'en  when  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  kill  trout  in 
the  water  with  one  of  these  balls,  fragments  of  the 
bullets  being  found  in  the  dead  fish.  The  sudden 
shock  of  the  water  close  to  the  fish,  of  course,  is 
partly  responsible.  At  Henry's  Lake  a  single  shot 
turned  up  four  trout. 

That  year,  before  I  left  the  East,  I  had  designed 
and  caused  to  be  made  by  the  Sharps  Company 
an  express  bullet  of  275  grains  weight  with  an 
eighth  inch  diameter  hole  in  the  point,  with  90 
or  95  grains  of  powder.  This  gave  a  proportion 

94 


'Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

of  powder  to  bullet  of  one  to  three,  which  was 
supposed  to  give  the  required  velocity.  A  lighter 
bullet  of  that  caliber  would  be  so  short  as  to  lose 
its  accuracy. 

From  September  13  to  October  i,  I  made  such 
experiments  as  I  could  with  deer,  killing  no  more 
than  we  could  use.  On  white-tail  and  black-tail 
deer  I  made  many  experiments.  When  hit  back  of 
the  shoulder,  the  animal's  lungs  and  heart — ac- 
cording to  the  location  of  the  bullet's  entrance — 
would  be  perforated  apparently  by  at  least  twenty 
fragments,  most  of  which  we  found  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  chest.  Usually  the  butt  of  the  bullet — 
considerably  flattened  out — was  found  next  the 
skin  on  the  other  side.  If  the  animal  was  hit 
further  back  over  the  paunch,  the  intestines  would 
be  cut  in  many  places,  and  the  butt  of  the  bullet 
would  be  found  under  the  skin  on  the  opposite 
side,  the  fragments  usually  remaining  in  the  vis- 
ceral cavity.  If  hit  in  either  of  these  ways,  the 
animal  would  stagger  off  and  be  found  within 
twenty  to  fifty  yards.  They  seldom  fell  in  their 
tracks.  Hit  in  other  parts  of  the  body,  the  shock 
appeared  to  be  much  greater  than  from  a  solid 
bullet,  and  as  a  rule,  quite  as  disabling.  I  had  no 
opportunity  on  this  trip  of  testing  this  light  bullet 
on  elk,  but  I  believe  that  if  this  animal  was  hit 

95 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

over  the  lungs,  heart  or  smaller  intestines,  it  would 
succumb  within  a  short  distance. 

The  trajectory  of  this  bullet  is  very  flat.  It 
shows  a  rise,  as  carefully  tested,  of  seven  inches  in 
two  hundred  yards.  It  is  accurate,  for  as  often 
tested,  careful  shooting  would  place  ten  consecu- 
tive bullets  within  a  twelve-inch  bullseye.  It  was 
sighted  for  two  hundred  yards.  For  all  distances 
within  that  range  it  was  necessary  to  aim  low, 
and  for  distances  up  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
the  mark  was  usually  reached  for  a  deer  by  aiming 
at  the  top  of  the  back. 

A  few  years  subsequent  to  this,  my  hunting  car- 
tridges were  kindly  tested  at  the  Frankford  Arsenal 
by  Major  Michaelis,  of  the  Ordnance  Depart- 
ment. I  was  then  using  the  long  range  .45  caliber 
rifle  made  by  the  Sharps  Rifle  Company,  but  by 
putting  a  double  patch  around  the  .44  caliber  275 
grain  express  bullet,  it  shot  as  accurately  from  the 
.45  caliber  rifle  as  from  the  .44.  A  few  cartridges 
were  sent  to  Major  Michaelis  with  the  275  grain 
express  ball  and  an  equal  number  of  .45  caliber 
express  bullets  of  my  own  design  weighing  340 
grains.  Into  all  the  shells  no  grains  of  powder 
were  loaded,  and  the  result  as  determined  by  the 
Government  chronograph  was  that  the  .45  caliber 
bullet  attained  a  muzzle  velocity  of  1,830  feet  a 

96 


'Memories  of  a  'Bear  Hunter 

second,  while  the  275  grain  bullet  had  a  muzzle 
velocity  of  1,910  feet  a  second. 

My  conclusion  was  that  the  lighter  express  bullet 
was  not  the  best  for  game  larger  than  deer.  Later 
experience  has  convinced  me  that  the  340  grain 
express  ball  is  sufficient  for  all  the  large  game  of 
the  continent  For  great  beasts  like  the  buffalo  a 
heavy  solid  bullet  is  the  thing,  but  during  the  sea- 
son of  1 88 1,  after  I  had  become  familiar  with  the 
habits  of  the  grizzly  bear,  I  killed,  using  an  express 
bullet  with  no  grains  of  black  powder,  twenty- 
three  of  those  bears,  of  which  seventeen  required 
only  a  single  shot. 

On  September  29  we  moved  camp  westerly 
around  the  foothills  of  the  mountains  to  the  head 
of  Cotton  Wood  Creek,  about  twelve  miles  above 
the  only  Indian  trading  post  in  the  Judith  Basin, 
owned  by  Reed  &  Bowles.  This  post  is  at  present 
the  site  of  the  flourishing  town  of  Lewiston.  Major 
Reed  had  been  the  Government  agent  of  the  As- 
sinaboines  and  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairie, 
with  headquarters  at  Fort  Belknap  on  Milk  River 
in  northern  Montana.  He  possessed  manly  quali- 
ties and  was  perfectly  fearless  in  the  presence  of 
danger.  As  an  evidence  of  this  trait  it  is  related 
that  at  one  of  the  gatherings  of  the  Indians  one 
of  them  shot  Reed's  dog  without  provocation. 

97 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Without  hesitation  Reed  took  up  his  rifle  and 
killed  the  Indian.  Of  course,  this  made  quite  a 
disturbance,  but  they  were  prudent  enough  not  to 
tackle  Reed.  The  dispute  was  finally  compromised 
by  his  paying  the  Indian's  relatives  a  price  in  ponies 
or  trade  goods.  The  religion  of  the  Indians  that 
inhabited  the  Southern  States  demanded  an  "eye 
for  an  eye,"  and  "a  death  for  a  death."  The  near- 
est relatives  were  religiously  bound  to  shed  the 
blood  of  the  slayer  of  their  family,  and  with  the 
nomad  tribes  of  the  Northwest  this  revenge  has 
become  a  matter  of  trade.40 

Bowles,  the  partner  of  Reed,  had,  just  before 
our  coming  into  the  neighborhood,  distinguished 
himself  by  a  quarrel  with  the  Indians.  His  wife 
was  a  woman  from  the  Piegan  Indians,  whose 
agency  was  at  Badger  Creek,41  in  northwest  Mon- 
tana. A  few  months  before  this  date,  a  party  of 
these  people,  some  of  whom  were  relatives  of 
Bowies'  wife,  came  into  the  Judith  Basin  on  a 
hunting  and  proposed  horse-stealing  expedition. 
After  loitering  about  the  trading  office  for  a  time, 
they  disappeared,  and  with  them  Bowies'  woman. 
Suspecting  that  she  had  been  persuaded  to  go  off 
by  her  relatives,  Bowles  mounted  a  good  horse, 
and  by  riding  all  night,  overtook  the  party  just 
before  they  packed  up  for  the  next  day's  march. 

98 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

The  result  of  the  meeting  was  that  Bowles  killed 
two  of  the  men,  scattered  the  balance  and  brought 
his  wife  back  with  him,  and  when  we  reached  the 
neighborhood  she  was  living  quietly  at  home. 

These  instances  are  suggestive  of  acts  of  some  of 
the  pioneers  of  those  days.  Major  Reed  stood 
high  as  a  fearless  man,  and  the  fact  that  he  was 
swift  to  punish,  even  by  death,  an  Indian  that  had 
deprived  him  of  his  property  did  not  injure  his 
standing  in  the  community  as  a  good  citizen,  and 
gave  the  Indians  a  wholesome  respect  for  him. 

Our  camp  at  the  head  of  Cottonwood  Creek, 
established  October  i,  was  delightful.  Grizzly 
bears  were  fairly  abundant,  about  as  much  so  as 
anywhere  on  the  frontier  that  I  have  been.  White- 
tailed  deer  were  extremely  abundant.  It  was  not 
uncommon-  for  different  members  of  the  party  to 
report  having  seen  in  one  day  twenty,  thirty,  forty 
or  even  fifty  deer.  Some  of  these  reports  may  have 
been  more  or  less  exaggerated.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  there  was  a  large  band  of  elk,  then  in  the 
midst  of  the  rutting  season.  The  flesh  of  the  bulls 
was  useless,  except  as  bear  bait.42 

The  numerous  willow  thickets  which  extended 
for  miles  down  the  stream  from  the  foothills  made 
splendid  cover  for  the  white-tailed  deer  and  grizzly 
bears.  Higher  up  on  the  hills  the  alternate  gulches 

99 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

and  intervening  ridges,  more  or  less  timbered,  are 
the  resort  of  the  black-tails.  I  have  never  found 
grizzly  bears  abundant  in  any  portion  of  Montana 
or  Wyoming  to  compare  with  any  other  game,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  females  bring  forth 
from  two  to  three  cubs  each  year.43  Two  cubs  are 
nearer  the  rule  than  the  exception.  Not  more  than 
ten  of  these  animals  were  seen  by  the  members  of 
the  party  during  the  month  spent  at  or  near  this 
camp,  and  some  of  these  were  seen  more  than  once. 
The  numerous  willow  thickets  made  it  almost  im- 
possible to  kill  them  in  daylight.  When  wounded 
they  sought  refuge  in  a  neighboring  thicket,  and 
if  followed,  could  always  elude  the  hunter's  ap- 
proach. In  this  neighborhood  four  of  these  bears 
were  killed,  two  by  Messiter  and  two  by  me. 

One  I  killed  October  4  in  the  open  and  in  day- 
light. He  was  discovered  on  an  open  flat  near 
Cottonwood  Creek,  about  two  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant and  feeding  leisurely  toward  me,  but  in  a 
quartering  direction.  Knowing  that  these  bears 
cannot  see  distinctly  unless  looking  up,  and  since 
he  was  too  far  off  to  risk  a  shot,  I  determined  to 
boldly  approach  him  in  the  open.  Watching  until 
his  head  was  down  feeding,  I  walked  toward  him 
as  rapidly  and  noiselessly  as  I  could  until  he  raised 
his  head,  when  I  crouched  down,  to  make  another 

100 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

approach  when  he  began  feeding.  I  finally  came 
to  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  of  him  without  his 
discovering  me,  and  watching  when  his  side  was 
exposed,  delivered  a  deadly  shot,  which  knocked 
him  over.  I  fired  two  more  shots  to  make  sure  of 
him.  He  was  a  large  bear,  his  skin  measuring, 
when  tacked  down,  seven  feet  seven  and  a  half 
inches. 

Messiter  also  killed  a  good-sized  bear  when 
alone  and  in  daylight.  The  two  other  bears  were 
killed  at  a  bait  established  near  the  camp,  one  at 
9  o'clock  and  the  other  at  12  o'clock  at  night. 
Other  elk  baits  were  looked  after  at  night,  but 
somehow  the  bears  always  learned  of  our  presence 
in  time  to  retire.  We  had  more  or  less  stormy 
weather,  blizzards  of  rain  and  then  snow,  which 
sometimes  lasted  for  twelve  hours.  In  the 
three  or  four  inches  of  snow  which  some- 
times lay  on  the  ground,  we  followed  the  bear 
tracks,  but  to  no  purpose.  From  the  Bannock 
camp  we  heard,  October  4,  of  a  fight  in  the  valley 
of  the  Yellowstone,44,  which  General  Miles  had 
had  with  a  hostile  band  of  Bannocks.  He  was  said 
to  have  killed  eight  or  ten,  and  to  have  dispersed 
the  remainder.  He  felt  sure  that  these  people 
would  now  make  for  Tendoy's  band,  and  joining 
them,  would  become  respectable  Indians.  Of 

101 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

course,  we  saw  nothing  of  them,  but  we  did  see 
moccasin  tracks  and  pony  tracks  in  the  snow  pass- 
ing down  the  stream  with  our  camp,  and  this 
warned  us  to  be  cautious.  About  the  middle  of 
October  one  of  the  men  sent  with  supplies  and  mail 
matter  to  the  Forks  of  the  Musselshell45  reported 
that  while  he  was  there  Indians  had  come  down 
and  stolen  about  twenty  head  of  horses,  his  own 
among  them. 

After  a  stay  of  a  month  at  the  Cottonwood  camp 
we  became  more  or  less  hopeless  of  success,  and 
left  the  Forks  of  the  Musselshell,  intending  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  the  hunting  season  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Crazy  Woman  Mountain,46 
between  the  Musselshell  and  the  Yellowstone 
Rivers.47 

Messiter's  horse  again  bucked  him  off  and  gave 
him  a  hard  fall,  but  did  not  injure  him.  We 
camped  at  Ross'  Fork  of  the  Judith  River,  along- 
side of  a  large  freight  outfit  loaded  with  rifles  and 
ammunition  for  Walter  Cooper  at  Bozeman.  The 
next  night  we  went  on  and  camped  in  Hopley's 
Hole,  twelve  miles  beyond  the  Judith  Gap  on  the 
way  to  the  Forks  of  the  Musselshell.  The  freight 
outfit  of  six  or  seven  teams  camped  at  the  springs 
near  the  Gap. 

Just  after  bedtime  a  band  of  Indians  made  a 

102 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

dash  for  the  freighters'  horses.  By  good  luck  the 
teamsters  heard  the  noise  in  time,  jumped  out  of 
their  blankets,  and  by  a  rapid  fusillade  drove  the 
Indians  off  before  any  horses  were  taken.  For- 
tunately our  insignificant  bunch  of  horses  was  no 
temptation  to  these  discriminating  savages.48 

We  reached  the  Forks  of  the  Musselshell  on 
November  2,  and  camped  in  Gordon's  cabin,  two 
miles  above  the  post-office.  Here  we  stayed  for 
several  days  reading  our  accumulated  mail  and 
newspapers,  and  on  the  6th  left  camp  for  a  hunt 
between  this  point  and  the  Yellowstone,  on  the 
heads  of  Sweetgrass  and  Big  Timber  Creeks. 

On  November  8  we  camped  at  Porcupine  Butte, 
and  on  the  9th  on  the  Big  Timber.  As  the  wagon 
and  outfit  passed  on  the  road  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  Messiter  and  I  scouted  along  the  foot- 
hills above,  looking  out  for  game.  We  saw  white- 
tails  and  antelope  in  considerable  numbers,  but  no 
sign  of  bears.  We  reached  Big  Timber  Creek 
again,  eight  or  nine  miles  above  the  point  our  camp 
was  supposed  to  be  located.  Meantime  it  had 
clouded  up,  and  before  long  began  to  snow,  with 
a  raw  northwest  wind.  We  moved  down  toward 
our  camp,  hoping  to  reach  it  before  dark,  but 
night  fell  before  any  signs  of  camp  could  be  seen, 
and  with  the  darkness  the  wind  and  the  snow  in- 

103 


Hunting  at  *High  T Altitudes 

creased.  We  were  without  overcoats,  and  our 
buckskin  clothing  had  already  become  wet  from  the 
melting  snow.  We  traveled  for  an  hour  and  a 
half  after  dark,  and  still  saw  no  camp-fire,  and  our 
occasional  stops  to  see  if  signal  guns  might  be 
heard  were  fruitless.  We  had  just  about  deter- 
mined to  seek  some  sheltered  place  where  we  might 
build  a  fire  and  spend  the  night  as  best  we  could, 
when  we  heard  from  behind  us  three  distinct  dis- 
charges of  firearms.  The  signals  were  answered 
and  camp  was  finally  reached  by  riding  about  two 
miles  back.  We  had  passed  it  within  three-quarters 
of  a  mile,  but  since  it  was  behind  an  intervening 
hill,  we  had  failed  to  hear  the  signal  guns.  Around 
a  cheerful  camp-fire  we  were  soon  warm  and  dry, 
but  it  did  not  require  a  hot  supper  to  make  us 
happy  at  having  reached  a  haven  where  we  were 
sheltered  from  storms  of  winter,  and  having 
avoided  a  night  of  great  discomfort  exposed  to  the 
blizzard  then  raging.  How  comfortable  and  luxu- 
rious that  tent  appeared,  with  the  storm  howling 
without!  No  wonder  the  tired  sportsmen  slept 
without  dreams. 

The  following  morning  was  bright  and  pleasant 
and  the  sun  was  warm  and  melted  the  snow.  We 
spent  the  loth,  i  ith  and  I2th  of  November  recon- 
noitering  the  mountains,  but  found  the  prospect  for 

104 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

game  so  disappointing  that  Messiter  and  I  deter- 
mined not  to  hunt. 

November  13  we  moved  camp  to  the  Yellow- 
stone. Messiter  determined  to  take  the  stage  next 
morning  for  Bismarck,  and  I  to  go  into  winter 
quarters  at  Bozeman.  We  had  no  difficulty  in 
agreeing  on  the  disposition  of  the  outfit,  and  I  took 
the  three  men  and  all  the  animals  to  Bozeman, 
where  the  party  was  to  break  up.  Messiter  left  on 
the  Bozeman  and  Bismarck  stage,  and  I  started 
with  the  men  for  Bozeman,  covering  the  distance 
in  three  days,  and  reached  there  on  the  1 6th.  The 
1 7th  of  November  the  party  was  disbanded. 


1879 

I  left  Bozeman  in  the  early  spring,  intending  to 
make  a  bear  hunt  in  the  Crazy  Woman  Mountains. 
Nelson  Catlin  was  my  packer.  We  had  three  pack 
animals.  We  were  provided  with  a  9  x  9  wall  tent 
with  a  small  box-shaped  sheet-iron  stove  to  go 
inside  the  tent.  The  day  was  bright  and  cheerful, 
and  we  passed  through  Bridger's  Canon,  up  Bridg- 
ets Creek,  toward  the  Bridger  Pass.  William 
Martin,  whom  we  met  and  who  had  just  come  over 
the  pass,  reported  it  impassable,  unless  the  snow 
should  be  sufficiently  hard  to  bear  up  the  pack  ani- 
mals. I  determined  to  make  an  early  start,  so  as 
to  pass  over  the  deep  snowdrift  before  the  sun 
should  thaw  the  crust.  We  did  not  get  started 
until  8  o'clock,  and  were  soon  in  trouble  with  the 
snow.  Two  pack  animals  went  down  at  the  first 
ravine  that  we  crossed  and  we  were  obliged  to  un- 
pack them.  Finally  we  determined  not  to  attempt 
any  other  snowdrifts,  but  to  ascend  the  mountains 
on  the  east  of  the  pass,  which  appeared  free  from 
snow,  and  to  try  to  go  down  some  bare  ridge  on 
to  Brackett  Creek,  a  fork  of  Shield's  River. 

106 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

These  bare  mountains  were  about  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  pass,  and  were  steep,  making  the 
climb  difficult  for  the  pack  animals  as  well  as  for 
ourselves.  It  was  not  until  12  o'clock  that  we 
reached  the  summit.  About  half  way  up,  a  pack 
on  one  of  the  horses  became  loose,  and  while  we 
tried  to  tighten  it,  the  horse  lost  his  footing  and 
rolled  down  the  mountainside,  over  and  over, 
finally  stopping  just  on  the  edge  of  a  snow  bank. 
Had  he  gone  a  little  further  and  got  on  the  snow 
bank,  he  would  no  doubt  have  rolled  down  a 
steeper  part  of  the  mountain  four  or  five  hundred 
feet,  and  been  killed.  As  it  was,  he  did  not  after- 
ward appear  at  all  hurt  or  sore.  We  were  on  top 
of  the  mountain  where  the  aneroid  showed  an 
elevation  of  7,300  feet. 

At  3  o'clock  we  started  down,  but  found  it  im- 
possible to  reach  Brackett  Creek,  as  we  had  hoped, 
because  of  the  depth  of  the  snow.  We  therefore 
came  down  to  a  point  on  the  pass  about  two  miles 
from  where  we  had  left  it,  trusting  to  fortune  to 
get  out  on  to  Brackett  Creek.  There  we  camped 
on  the  headwaters  of  Brackett  Creek,  but  in  a  place 
where  there  was  little  grass  for  the  animals,  but 
plenty  of  wood  and  water.  Here  the  barometer 
showed  5,900  feet,  which  is  about  the  level  of 
Bridger  Pass.  The  exertions  of  the  day  were  very 

107 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

fatiguing  to  animals  and  men.  I  walked  most  of 
the  way  up  the  mountain,  leading  my  saddle  ani- 
mal, and  all  the  way  down,  going  ahead  of  my 
mare  and  breaking  a  road  through  deep  snow  near 
the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

Next  morning  Catlin  went  out  early,  to  learn,  if 
possible,  something  about  the  road,  and  when  he 
returned  reported  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to 
get  out  of  the  pass  on  to  Brackett  Creek.  Finally, 
however,  after  careful  choice  of  a  way,  we  reached 
the  stream  without  trouble  and  were  now  on  dry 
ground  and  out  of  the  snow.  We  camped  on  a 
side  hill  only  a  little  further  on,  where  there  was 
wood  and  water  and  good  shelter  from  storms.  I 
had  intended  to  hunt  in  the  evening,  but  when  the 
time  came  found  that  the  horses  had  started  away 
from  camp  down  into  the  valley,  and  it  took  some 
time  to  overtake  and  bring  them  back.  An  all- 
day  hunt  on  April  5  showed  no  game,  and  only  a 
little  sign  of  deer,  but  the  following  day  I  took 
a  walk  in  the  evening  and  discovered  a  band  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  mountain  sheep,  which  I  en- 
deavored to  approach.  After  going  a  long  way 
round,  we  approached  them  within  three  hundred 
yards,  but  could  not  get  nearer  without  being  seen 
or  winded.  I  fired  the  express  ball  at  them  at  that 
distance,  but  apparently  without  result.  Catlin, 

108 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

who  followed  the  sheep  as  they  hurried  up  the 
mountain,  fired  two  more  shots  and  knocked  down 
an  animal,  but  failed  to  secure  it. 

This  was  Sunday,  and  the  anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Shiloh,  in  1862.  The  following  morn- 
ing I  set  out  to  look  for  mountain  sheep,  and  going 
up  a  small  ridge  just  below  the  camp  saw  a  small 
band  of  sheep  on  the  mountain,  which,  however, 
saw  us  at  the  same  time  and  made  off.  The  climb 
was  a  long  one,  but  it  was  not  so  steep  but  we  could 
ride  our  horses  to  the  top,  which  the  aneroid 
showed  to  be  i  ,000  feet  higher  than  the  camp.  No 
sheep  were  seen  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  but 
by  working  along  and  looking  down  into  the  next 
ravine,  we  discovered  another  band  of  sheep  feed- 
ing about  a  mile  away.  To  get  around  the  head 
of  the  gulch  to  the  ridge  they  were  feeding  on 
proved  impossible  because  of  snowdrifts,  and  we 
were  therefore  obliged  to  make  a  long  circuit,  de- 
scending to  a  level  lower  than  that  of  the  camp. 
The  wind  was  baffling  and  uncertain,  and  I  was 
somewhat  afraid  that  they  might  scent  us  and  go 
off.  As  we  climbed  the  backbone  of  a  ridge  we 
came  upon  the  fresh  tracks  of  a  bear  going  down. 

After  a  hard  climb  we  got  near  the  sheep,  but 
meanwhile  they  had  fled  down  the  ridge  and  we 
came  upon  them  unexpectedly.  They  scampered 

109 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

off  without  giving  us  a  good  chance,  but  stopped  at 
1 75 "or  200  yards  distant.  We  both  fired  hastily, 
and  probably  overshot;  at  all  events,  we  touched 
nothing.  They  ran  down  the  mountain  into  a 
ravine  to  the  left  and  then  up  on  the  other  side. 
I  suggested  to  Catlin,  who  had  better  and  younger 
legs  than  I,  to  go  ahead  up  the  ridge  and  try  to 
head  them  off.  He  did  so,  but  after  an  hour  re- 
turned unsuccessful.  He  reported  having  stalked 
a  grizzly,  which  had  run  down  the  same  ravine 
with  the  sheep.  He  had  gone  into  a  pine  forest  on 
the  other  side  of  the  ravine,  where  it  was  futile  to 
follow. 

After  a  weary  tramp  without  success,  we  reached 
camp^about  4 :3O  P.  M.,  tired  and  hungry  and  with 
only  a  mountain  grouse  to  show  for  the  day's  hard 
work.  On  the  way  we  passed  the  carcasses  of  two 
dead  steers,  untouched  by  bears ;  good  evidence  that 
as  yet  these  animals  had  not  come  down  into  the 
valley.  At  camp  we  found  the  barometer  had 
fallen  three  and  a  half  tenths,  promising  stormy 
weather.  It  had  registered  in  that  camp  from 
23.75  to  24-J5-  Previous  to  this  afternoon  it  had 
been  quite  steady  at  from  24.10  to  24.15. 

Most  of  the  night  was  stormy;  the  wind  blew 
hard,  with  many  showers  of  rain.  In  the  morn- 
ing we  could  see  snow  on  the  mountains  to  the 

no 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

north  and  to  the  south.  It  was  cool  and  some  ice 
had  formed  in  the  water  buckets.  The  wind  was 
blowing  hard  and  cold,  and  I  determined  not  to 
move  camp  this  day.  About  i  o'clock  I  set  out  to 
look  for  sheep  on  a  high  tableland  that  we  had  not 
hunted  hitherto.  Just  before  ascending  the  moun- 
tain, I  saw  what  I  supposed  to  be  a  band  of  sheep 
just  on  the  path  that  I  had  picked  out  to  follow 
to  the  summit.  Instead  of  going  up  further,  I  kept 
on  down  the  valley  until  out  of  their  sight,  and 
then  turned  up  and  climbed  the  mountain  until  I 
was  above  them,  and  by  a  long  and  weary  tramp 
approached  them.  I  at  length  discovered  them 
lying  down  below  me,  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  distant  on  the  mountainside,  but  horizontally 
only  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  yards.  I  shot  at 
a  ewe  and  broke  her  hindleg,  and  the  others  not 
knowing  the  direction  whence  the  danger  came,  ran 
directly  up  the  mountain  toward  me.  As  I  was 
preparing  to  use  the  double  triggers,  the  rifle  went 
off  accidentally,  and  the  ball  passed  over  the  sheep, 
so  I  lost  a  fine  chance  to  kill  another.  I  then  hur- 
ried down  the  mountain  at  breakneck  speed,  and 
shot  the  wounded  animal,  which  proved  to  be  an 
antelope,  a»  I  had  discovered  when  the  band  ran 
toward  me.  I  took  a  ham  and  went  to  the  gulch, 
where  we  had  previously  found  the  sheep  and 

in 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  bear,  and  there  awaited  Catlin's  return. 
When  he  came  he  reported  a  band  of  antelope  and 
one  of  elk,  but  too  far  off  to  be  reached  that  day. 

The  next  day  we  moved  down  to  Martin  & 
Myer's  camp,  at  the  forks  of  Twenty-five  Yard 
Creek,  on  Shield's  River,  and  about  twenty  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  it  enters  the 
Yellowstone  River.  The  next  day  Catlin  went 
down  for  grain  for  the  horses,  and  I  reconnoitered 
as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Crazy  Mountains  to 
select  a  permanent  camp.  These  foothills  were 
understood  to  be  one  of  the  best  points  in  Montana 
for  bear.  They  are  not  high  and  are  quite  broken. 
There  are  good  camping  places. 

Catlin  returned  the  following  day,  and  on  April 
12  we  started  for  the  foot  of  the  Crazy  Mountains 
to  establish  a  camp.  I  told  Catlin  the  direction  in 
which  I  wished  to  go,  and  riding  off  to  one  side 
before  long  found  first  one  elk  and  then  four 
others,  at  which  I  fired  a  few  shots;  but  the  dis- 
tance was  great,  and  I  did  no  damage.  Not  long 
afterward  I  met  Catlin  coming  back  in  search  of 
something  that  had  dropped  off  the  pack.  He  had 
seen  something  go  over  the  ridge  which  he  sup- 
posed was  a  mounted  Indian.  I  suggested  that 
the  object  was  an  antelope  or  an  elk,  but  he  was 
somewhat  alarmed.  After  a  circuit  of  three- 

112 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

fourths  of  a  mile,  we  cautiously  approached  the 
place  where  the  elk  had  been.  Three  antelope 
stood  officiously  near  that  point  and  seemed  to 
dare  us  to  fire  at  them,  but  we  were  in  search  of 
larger  game. 

Some  of  the  elk  had  moved  down  the  ridge  and 
they  had  scattered  out,  but  we  discovered  it  in  time 
not  to  alarm  them,  and  crept  up  to  within  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards.  Each  selecting  his  animal, 
we  fired.  Mine  fell,  but  Catlin  overshot,  and  the 
noise  started  them  running.  We  ran  down  the 
mountain,  and  each  got  another  shot  at  a  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  mine  again  falling  by  a  shot 
through  the  shoulder,  and  Catlin  missing.  Look- 
ing across  the  valley  of  a  small  creek,  a  band  of 
at  least  fifty  elk  that  our  shots  had  alarmed 
streamed  out  of  the  valley,  and  a  mile  further  on, 
over  near  the  base  of  the  mountain,  was  a  still 
larger  band  of  seventy  or  eighty.  These  joined 
the  others,  and  all  went  off.  I  had  never  before 
seen  so  many  elk,  and  those  I  saw  would  ordinarily 
be  estimated  as  three  or  four  hundred,  but  my  esti- 
mate is  based  on  a  count  of  portions  of  the  herd. 

On  examining  our  game,  we  found  that  both 
were  cows,  and  neither  fat.  They  were  shot  with 
275-grain  hollow  bullets,  with  a  hole  one-sixteenth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  first  one  was  shot 

"3 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

through  the  back  part  of  the  paunch,  but  I  could 
not  find  the  ball.  When  the  shot  struck  her  she 
dropped,  rose  again  and  soon  fell  and  was  dead 
when  we  reached  her.  The  second  was  shot 
through  both  shoulders,  the  ball  lodging  against 
the  skin  on  the  opposite  side,  but  going  through  the 
ribs  and  shoulders,  the  ball  had  flown  to  pieces  and 
the  butt,  much  marked,  went  through  the  opposite 
shoulder.  This  ball  was  found  and  weighed  250 
grains.  Both  elk  were  dressed,  for  we  intended  to 
make  bear  bait  of  portions  of  them. 

Before  this  we  had  found  the  sign  of  a  large 
bear.  It  was  after  sundown  when  we  returned  to 
camp,  and  we  were  then  obliged  to  pitch  the  tent 
and  get  the  supper.  On  our  way  out  to  investigate 
the  supposed  Indian  mystery  I  killed  a  big  antelope 
at  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  with  a  275-grain 
hollow  ball,  dropping  him  in  his  tracks  shot 
through  the  shoulders  high  up.  Catlin  was  now 
satisfied  that  the  supposed  horsemen  had  been  elk. 
It  is  usually  well  to  investigate  all  such  supposed 
mysteries,  and,  if  possible,  to  satisfy  the  persons 
who  discover  them,  and  thus  to  stop  the  constant 
alarms  likely  to  follow.49 

Two  days  later  we  moved  camp  about  two  miles 
further  south  and  higher  up  the  mountain,  on  the 
little  stream  where  wood  and  water  were  abundant 

114 


'Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

and  convenient  and  the  camp  well  sheltered  from 
the  wind.  Above  camp  we  established  a  bear  bait, 
leaving  there  two  carcasses  of  elk,  killed  not 
long  before.  We  saw  some  deer  and  elk,  and 
reached  camp  just  in  time  to  escape  a  storm  which 
continued  during  the  night,  the  rain  finally  turning 
into  snow  when  the  wind  shifted  to  the  northwest. 
The  ground  was  white  with  snow  next  morning. 
Catlin  reported  that  two  white-tail  deer  were  feed- 
ing within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  tent  when  he  got 
up.  He  called  me,  asking  me  to  get  them.  I 
slipped  a  cartridge  into  the  rifle,  stepped  out  into 
the  snow,  and  kneeling  down,  pulled  the  trigger. 
In  justice  to  myself  I  may  say  that  the  deer  was 
facing  me,  and  to  my  disappointment,  instead  of 
dropping  in  his  tracks,  he  raised  his  tail,  and  with 
his  companion  bounded  away  out  of  sight.  After 
breakfast  I  hunted  around  the  mountains  to  the 
south,  and  discovered  two  bull  elk  lying  on  a  hill- 
side out  of  reach  of  the  wind,  which  was  blowing 
hard  from  the  northwest.  After  some  maneuver- 
ing I  crept  up  to  what  I  supposed  was  150  yards. 
I  fired  at  one  of  them  lying  down,  and  the  two 
sprang  up.  Another  shot  at  the  same  animal  stand- 
ing broadside  failed  to  bring  it  down,  and  then  the 
elk  trotted  over  the  hill  into  a  ravine.  I  followed 
rapidly,  thinking  they  must  have  stopped,  and  sure 

"5 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

enough,  on  reaching  the  brow  of  the  little  hill, 
there  the  two  were.  One  stood  with  his  tail  toward 
me,  and  the  other  broadside  on,  but  with  his  rump 
behind  the  head  of  the  other.  Pulling  the  trigger 
at  the  one  standing  broadside  on,  the  other  one 
fell,  having  been  hit  a  raking  shot  in  the  loins  and 
being  broken  down.  I  went  up  to  him  and  killed 
him  with  two  shots,  one  with  the  275,  and  the 
other  with  the  36ograin  ball.  The  first  two  shots 
had  dropped  successively  and  had  broken  the  leg 
in  two  places,  the  lower  part  of  the  thigh  and 
below  the  knee.  The  shot  in  the  thigh  had  caused 
a  bad  wound.  A  trial  shot  with  the  36o-grain  ball 
made  a  hole  on  entering  the  cavity  of  three  inches 
diameter.  The  275-grain  ball  would  have  killed 
him  as  quickly,  as  it  badly  shattered  the  breast 
bone  and  reached  the  heart.  I  took  out  the  tender- 
loins and  returned  to  camp  for  dinner.  The  wind 
was  very  cold,  and  I  remained  in  camp  during  the 
evening  and  loaded  about  eighty  rifle  shells.  The 
bull  elk  killed  the  day  before  had  only  recently 
dropped  his  horns,  as  had  his  companion.  Three 
young  bulls  that  I  had  seen  lately  several  times  had 
not  dropped  their  horns.50  I  concluded  from  this 
that  April  15  was  about  the  time  when  they  lose 
them. 

The  following  day  I  hunted  around  the  base  of 
116 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  mountains  to  the  north  to  look  for  game  and 
for  another  camp,  for  the  signs  called  for  it.  In 
the  snow  I  discovered  one  large  bear  track  within 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  camp.  This  was  the  third 
bear  track  we  had  seen,  and  I  was  becoming  dis- 
couraged, as  there  was  no  other  sign  of  their  being 
here.  Our  elk  baits  still  remained  untouched. 

I  hunted  around  the  mountain  for  six  or  seven 
miles  and  passed  over  a  country  well  adapted  to 
game,  especially  white-tail  deer,  but  all  I  saw  was 
one  band  of  black-tails  and  one  of  antelope.  The 
large  band  of  elk  seemed  to  have  left  the  country 
I  wished  to  hunt  in ;  still  I  felt  that  we  might  find 
them  still  further  south,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountain,  where  the  grass  was  greener.  On  the 
north  and  northeast  sides  of  the  mountain  the  snow 
drifts  were  much  deeper  and  showed  the  lack  of 
sun.  The  wind  blew  so  hard  that  it  was  tiresome 
to  ride  against  it. 

After  dinner  the  next  day  we  went  south  around 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  for  four  miles.  We  saw 
two  white-tail  deer  lying  on  a  hillside  sunning 
themselves,  and  Catlin,  crawling  up  to  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  them,  fired.  Much  to  his  dis- 
gust, he  missed,  and  the  deer  bounded  away  over 
the  next  hill  with  flags  flying.  Further  along,  we 
saw  elk;  first  three  lying  high  up  on  the  mountain 

117 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

on  our  left,  probably  the  young  bulls  seen  several 
times,  and  then  climbing  up  high  on  the  mountain 
to  approach  them,  I  discovered  two  large  bands  of 
elk  feeding;  no  doubt  the  ones  seen  a  few  days 
before.  They  were  about  three  miles  to  the  south 
and  on  the  bench  near  Rock  Creek.  I  regretted 
that  we  had  not  moved  the  day  before,  so  that  we 
might  get  around  them  and  start  them  up  the 
valley,  so  as  to  have  them  near  us  when  we  moved 
camp  further  up  the  mountains  to  the  north. 

Going  about  a  mile  further  around  the  moun- 
tain, we  discovered  a  fine  old  ram  sunning  himself 
about  half  way  to  the  top.  We  passed  him  with- 
out attracting  his  attention,  got  under  cover,  and 
then  ascended  the  mountain  by  way  of  a  ravine  in 
order  to  get  the  wind  on  him  and  to  approach  him 
from  behind  rising  ground.  About  the  time  I  dis- 
mounted and  prepared  to  stalk  him,  I  discovered 
the  remainder  of  the  band,  six  or  eight  sheep,  a 
little  higher  up,  but  in  full  view  of  us.  They  had 
seen  us,  and  got  up  and  ran  off.  I  hurried  toward 
the  old  ram,  in  the  hope  that  he  would  not  dis- 
cover this  movement  of  the  others,  but  getting  to 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  him,  found  he  also 
was  starting  up  the  mountain.  I  gave  the  band  a 
shot  at  three  hundred  yards,  but  it  fell  short,  and 
then  I  fired  at  the  ram,  but  without  effect. 

118 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

It  was  now  3  o'clock,  and  we  returned  toward 
camp.  Some  time  before  we  reached  it,  we  dis- 
covered a  band  of  elk  on  the  trail,  but  apparently 
working  back  toward  camp,  as  if  something  had 
alarmed  them.  Following,  we  found  that  they  had 
followed  our  trail  toward  camp,  and  we  supposed 
that  they  would  stop  and  begin  to  feed  near  camp  ; 
but  before  long  we  saw  the  band  rapidly  climbing 
the  mountains,  something  had  greatly  frightened 
them — perhaps  a  bear.  At  all  events,  no  bear  had 
disturbed  our  bait,  and  it  seemed  that  bears  must 
be  scarce  here. 

Early  on  this  day  I  had  an  odd  experience  with 
a  buck  antelope.  I  first  shot  at  him  from  250 
yards,  and  supposing  that  I  had  hit  him,  we  went 
to  see.  Then  I  discovered  him  225  or  250  yards 
away,  facing  us.  I  took  deliberate  aim  for  250 
yards,  making  allowance  for  the  wind  that  was 
blowing.  When  the  ball  reached  him,  the  hair 
flew  from  his  back,  and  he  fell,  apparently  dead. 
Soon  he  began  to  kick  and  flop  and  pitch  about 
like  a  rabbit,  and  it  became  apparent  that  he  was 
merely  grazed,  the  ball  probably  having  plowed 
along  his  backbone.  The  more  he  kicked  the  live- 
lier he  became,  until  he  got  to  his  feet,  and  at  every 
jump  he  made,  he  grew  better,  until  at  length  he 
trotted  and  galloped  off  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 

119 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

pened,  and  was  soon  snorting  at  me  from  a  neigh- 
boring hill,  but  out  of  rifle  shot. 

On  the  next  day,  while  we  were  hunting,  looking 
for  elk  and  mountain  sheep,  we  discovered  with  the 
glasses  what  we  supposed  was  a  band  of  elk  feed- 
ing on  a  steep  mountainside.  As  we  attempted  to 
approach  them,  a  buck  antelope  with  beautiful 
horns  got  up  within  fifty  yards  of  us  on  a  hillside 
and  stamped  defiance  at  us  while  he  erected  his 
mane.  We  approached  within  thirty  yards  before 
he  would  trot  off.  Had  we  not  been  after  larger 
game,  the  antelope  would  not  have  been  so  bold. 
We  left  him  staring  at  us  with  broadside  exposed 
a  hundred  yards  off.  How  did  he  know  we  were 
after  larger  game  and  did  not  wish  to  bother  with 
him?  This  often  happens  when  one  has  plenty  of 
meat,  but  once  get  out  of  meat,  and  then  see  how 
scarce  and  wild  game  can  become. 

When  we  were  within  five  hundreds  yards  of 
the  game  already  spoken  of,  creeping  from  behind 
a  little  ridge,  we  discovered  that  instead  of  being 
elk,  these  were  mountain  sheep.  Their  light  color 
ought  to  have  told  us  this  before,  but  we  took  them 
for  a  band  of  elk  seen  yesterday. 

The  sheep  were  in  full  view,  and  there  was  no 
way  of  approaching  them.  We  could  only  wait 
for  them  to  feed  along  the  mountainside,  and  dis- 

120 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

appear  over  a  small  bench.  When  they  had  done 
this,  after  an  hour's  wait,  we  slipped  down  as 
quickly  as  possible  into  a  deep  ravine.  Many  of 
the  sheep  were  still  in  sight,  but  they  failed  to 
detect  us.  A  little  later  the  wind  was  blowing 
hard,  and  I  feared  lest  our  scent  should  be  taken 
up  to  them,  as  it  swept  up  the  mountain.  Never- 
theless we  kept  on.  When  we  reached  the  part  of 
the  bench  where  we  had  seen  some,  all  had  van- 
ished, and  I  concluded  that  they  had  winded  us  and 
had  run  up  the  mountain.  However,  there  was 
one  spot  where  they  might  be  lying  down.  We 
approached  the  intervening  rise,  but  not  with  great 
caution,  until  Catlin  caught  sight  of  a  horn  and 
signalled  me.  I  rose  and  shot  at  a  large  ram  at 
the  other  side  of  the  rise,  but  only  fifty  yards  away. 
There  was  a  tuft  of  grass  between  us,  but  I  sup- 
posed I  had  certainly  killed  him.  The  sheep  van- 
ished so  quickly  that  Catlin  did  not  get  a  shot,  and 
the  whole  band  circled  around  to  our  right,  cross- 
ing the  path  by  which  we  had  come  up  the  moun- 
tain. During  this  time  each  one  of  us  gave  them 
a  shot,  and  then  ran  rapidly  back  to  shoot  again. 
The  band  came  into  view  about  two  hundred  yards 
off,  and  we  bored  three  shots  apiece  into  them, 
wounding  two  at  least  and  a  three-year-old  ram, 
which  could  not  follow  the  band.  Meantime  the 

121 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

sheep  had  descended  the  gulch  and  were  slowly 
climbing  the  mountain  on  the  other  side.  We  now 
started  back  to  pick  up  the  killed  and  wounded, 
thinking  there  must  be  some  after  fifteen  or  twenty 
shots  fired.  Going  back  to  near  the  point  where 
we  started  them,  I  observed  an  old  ram  peering 
at  me  over  a  ledge  of  rock.  He  was  about  a  hun- 
dred yards  up  the  mountain  and  showed  only  his 
head  and  neck.  I  fired  at  him,  and  supposed  that 
I  dropped  him,  so  rapidly  did  his  head  disappear. 
I  climbed  higher  toward  him,  and  again  he  showed 
his  whole  body,  but  not  long  enough  for  a  shot.  I 
called  to  Catlin,  who  was  on  the  other  side  of  this 
ledge  of  rock  to  look  out,  as  I  was  sure  the  ram 
would  almost  run  over  him.  Soon  I  heard  three 
shots,  and  presently  saw  Catlin  triumphantly  point- 
ing at  the  ram  and  declaring  that  he  had  broken 
his  legs.  At  last  Catlin  killed  the  ram,  and  the 
shots  found  in  his  body  showed  that  he  was  the 
one  that  I  had  shot  at  first.  He  could  have  escaped 
in  a  dozen  different  directions,  but  declined  to  do 
so;  insisting  on  following  his  band,  he  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  our  rifles.  The  ram  was  the  largest 
that  I  had  yet  seen.  Its  measurements  were  as 
follows:  Length  of  body,  from  tip  of  nose  to 
root  of  tail,  60  inches;  height  at  shoulder,  42 
inches;  circumference  of  chest,  52  inches;  length 

122 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

of  horn  on  curve,  28^  inches;  circumference  at 
base,  1 6  inches;  circumference  at  half  its  length, 
15  inches;  spread  of  horns  from  tip  to  tip,  21 
inches.  The  horns  made  a  few  inches  more  than 
one  turn,  and  we  estimated  that  he  would  weigh 
nearly  400  pounds. 

On  the  way  down  the  hill  to  get  the  horses, 
Catlin  pointed  out  a  groundhog  sitting  at  the  root 
of  a  tree  about  thirty  yards  distant.  Being  desir- 
ous to  see  if  he  resembled  the  eastern  animal,  I 
shot  him.  Going  to  pick  him  up,  I  discovered  just 
below  me  the  other  wounded  ram.  He  was  a 
three-year-old,  with  a  perfect  set  of  horns,  not 
battered,  as  in  the  old  one. 

The  next  day  Catlin  went  to  Martin  &  Myer's 
ranch  and  a  storm  threatened  all  day.  The  next 
day  it  was  raining,  turning  to  snow  at  night,  and 
on  the  morning  of  April  21,  ten  or  twelve  inches 
of  snow  lay  on  the  ground.  It  was  soft  and  melt- 
ing, and  ceased  about  midday.  The  following 
day  we  set  out  to  look  for  signs  along  the  base  of 
the  mountains,  and  found  two  bear  trails  coming 
down.  One  of  them  led  to  an  elk  bait,  which  I 
determined  to  watch  for  the  bear,  since  his  tracks 
showed  him  to  be  a  large  one.  Unfortunately,  the 
bait  was  in  the  open  prairie,  without  any  cover 
near  it.  If  I  watched  on  the  ground  near  enough 

123 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

to  the  bait  to  see  to  shoot  after  night,  the  bear 
would  smell  me,  while,  if  I  remained  out  of  gun- 
shot, I  could  not  creep  up  to  him  because  of  the 
noise  made  by  the  frozen  snow,  so  that  night  after 
dinner  I  rode  over  to  the  bait,  picketing  old  Jim, 
the  pack  horse,  at  a  little  distance  and  going  to  a 
point  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  bait,  where  I 
could  command  a  view  of  all  approaches.  I 
watched  until  dark,  but  saw  no;  sign  of  him,  and 
returned  to  camp. 

Two  days  later  we  moved  camp  to  one  of  the 
springs  of  Elk  Creek,  about  two  miles  from  the 
base  of  the  mountains.  The  spot  should  be  a  good 
one  for  game,  for  it  was  a  park  in  the  mountain 
about  five  miles  in  circumference.  On  the  way 
there  we  saw  seven  or  eight  bull  elk,  one  of  which 
I  tried  to  shoot  at,  but  the  rifle  was  unloaded.  I 
saw  some  large  bands  of  antelope,  and  one  band 
of  white-tail  deer. 

While  riding  next  day,  I  witnessed  the  extraor- 
dinary sight  of  a  sickle-billed  curlew  chasing  a 
large  eagle.  Other  summer  birds  were  beginning 
to  appear — larks,  flickers,  bluebirds  and  others. 
For  a  week  past  I  had  heard  the  sandhill  cranes 
and  geese  passing  over.  Although  there  was 
little  or  no  snow  on  the  prairie,  still  in  the  narrow 
valleys,  which  were  shadowed  by  the  hills,  the 

124 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

southern  foothills  were  covered  with  snow  and 
with  deep  drifts,  some  of  which  were  frozen  hard 
enough  to  bear  a  horse.  This  was  on  the  north 
fork  of  Shield's  River.  Across  the  river  from  our 
camp  was  a  beautiful  park,  watered  by  clear 
streams,  with  many  willow  and  quaking  aspen 
thickets  along  their  course,  which  once  must  have 
been  alive  with  white-tailed  deer.  Now  not  one 
was  to  be  seen,  nor  were  there  any  elk  in  sight.  All 
of  them  seemed  to  have  followed  the  large  bands 
further  south.51 

On  April  27,  while  going  out  to  look  after  the 
horses,  I  saw  a  band  of  fifteen  or  twenty  elk  feed- 
ing on  the  hillside  of  Elk  Creek.  After  watching 
them  for  an  hour  through  the  glasses — for  they 
were  two  and  a  half  or  three  miles  away — they 
lay  down.  To  reach  them  I  made  a  circuit  of  per- 
haps four  miles  to  get  to  windward  of  them,  and 
then  climbing  the  hill,  got  close  to  them.  How- 
ever, I  did  not  find  them  where  I  had  expected,  and 
working  along  down  the  hill,  disturbed  a  band  of 
black-tail  deer,  which  ran  off  in  the  direction  of  the 
elk  and  started  them.  They  went  off  slowly,  and 
running  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  I  got  a  shot  at  them, 
just  before  they  plunged  down  the  side  of  the 
mountain.  One  of  them  reared,  and  acted  as  if 
fatally  wounded,  but  managed  to  go  off  with  the 

125 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

band.  They  disappeared  in  a  creek  bottom  a  mile 
off,  and  as  I  did  not  see  them  come  out  of  it,  I  went 
to  my  mare,  and  making  another  circuit,  climbed 
the  mountain,  and  when  I  looked  over,  discovered 
three  bands  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  some 
lying  down  and  some  feeding.  As  it  was  late,  I 
determined  to  return  to  camp  and  perhaps  try  for 
them  to-morrow.  On  my  way  back  I  killed  three 
antelope. 

About  9  o'clock  the  next  morning,  I  set  out  to 
find  the  elk,  and  after  a  time  discovered  what  I 
supposed  to  be  four  black-tails  a  long  way  off  on 
the  mountain  bordering  Elk  Creek  on  the  south.  I 
climbed  the  mountain  to  the  windward  and  looked, 
but  seeing  nothing  across  the  valley,  crept  on  down 
after  the  black-tails.  When  I  had  come  close  to 
them,  I  found  they  were  not  black-tails,  but  elk,  but 
near  them  was  the  band  of  ten  or  twelve  black-tails 
that  I  had  seen  a  few  days  before.  I  was  obliged 
to  creep  just  above  and  even  among  the  deer  to  get 
a  shot  at  the  elk,  which  lay  just  beyond.  One  of 
them,  lying  down  broadside  about  125  yards 
distant,  was  shot  at.  I  made  allowance  for  a  strong 
wind,  but  the  light  ball  drifted  and  struck  it  in  the 
neck,  killing  it  at  once.  I  then  turned  my  atten- 
tion to  the  band  of  black-tails  about  200  yards 
down  the  mountain,  but  failed  to  get  one. 

126 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Among  the  elk  that  I  saw  on  the  27th  was  a 
young  bull  that  had  not  yet  dropped  his  horns.  He 
seemed  to  be  three  or  four  years  old.  The  follow- 
ing day  I  spent  in  camp,  'experimenting  with  car- 
tridges, to  discover  the  effect,  if  any,  of  a  lubricant 
wad  melting  and  being  mixed  with  the  powder,  but 
I  could  reach  no  definite  conclusion.  The  next  day, 
while  out  looking  about,  I  rode  up  on  a  ridge  and 
saw  three  deer  approaching,  feeding.  I  dis- 
mounted, and  although  my  mare  was  in  plain  sight, 
they  came  up  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  horse 
before  seeing  her.  This  shows  that  deer  are  not 
always  as  vigilant  and  watchful  as  they  have  the 
credit  of  being.52 

On  May  i,  Catlin  got  back,  and  the  day  after, 
August  Gottschalk  rode  up.  He  had  come  from 
his  ranch  near  Bozeman  to  hunt  with  me,  and 
unable  to  find  my  camp,  had  camped  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  to  the  south.  After  dinner  we  went  out 
to  look  the  land  over,  and  to  the  south  saw  one 
band  of  elk  and  some  other  game.  We  spent  some 
time  trying  to  get  within  good  rifle  shot,  but  at 
last  they  winded  us  and  went  off  to  the  higher 
benches.  We  might  have  had  a  long  shot  at  them, 
but  the  wind  was  blowing  fiercely,  and  we  wished 
to  make  a  sure  kill,  for  my  friend  wanted  to  take 
some  meat  home  with  him.  The  next  morning  it 

127 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

was  storming,  with  about  two  inches  of  snow  on 
the  ground,  but  before  long  it  cleared  up  and  I 
went  over  to  Gottschalk's  camp  to  make  a  day's 
hunt  to  the  south.  We  found  no  bear,  but  saw 
one  fresh  track  near  our  own  camp.  From  one  of 
the  high  points,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  country 
below,  and  so  discovered  two  hundred  elk  feeding 
in  different  bands.  Determining  to  make  a  circuit 
of  about  five  miles  in  order  to  get  south  of  the  elk 
and  drive  them  toward  our  camp,  we  covered  a  wide 
sweep  of  country,  which  we  examined  for  bear  or 
bear  sign,  but  without  encouragement.  There  were 
many  white-tail  deer  and  antelope.  At  length  we 
approached  the  southernmost  band  of  elk  under 
good  cover,  and  got  within  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  of  them.  There  were  about  fifty  of  them, 
and  they  were  lying  down.  Gottschalk  fired  before 
I  was  ready,  and  all  my  shots  were  at  the  band 
while  it  was  running.  After  firing  three  shots 
apiece,  we  discovered  that  our  horses  had  stam- 
peded as  well  as  the  elk,  and  before  getting  back 
to  the  elk,  they  had  all  disappeared.  Several  were 
going  off  wounded,  however,  and  Gottschalk  fol- 
lowed them.  I  heard  a  shot  at  one  of  the  wounded 
and  ran  around  a  butte,  hoping  to  meet  a  band 
going  south.  Those  that  I  saw  after  were  going 
down  the  stream,  but  about  one  mile  away  I  saw  a 

128 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

band  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  coming  toward 
me,  evidently  intending  to  go  south  around  the 
point  of  the  mountain.  This  we  wished  to*  prevent. 
When  the  elk  discovered  me,  they  turned  back  and 
bent  their  course  to  the  northwest. 

Going  toward  camp,  I  found  a  small  band  of 
elk,  and  got  within  easy  rifle  shot  and  shot  a 
young  bull  with  a  102-386  cartridge.  He  was 
badly  wounded,  being  shot  through  the  thigh.  I 
then  fired  at  another  elk  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
off  and  wounded  it,  and  away  went  the  balance  to 
the  northwest.  The  bull  was  badly  wounded,  and 
soon  fell,  and  I  went  after  the  wounded  one  which 
fell  in  the  brush  near  our  own  camp.  When  I 
went  back  to  the  bull,  he  was  dead.  Just  then  my 
friend  hove  in  sight,  having  killed  the  elk  he  was 
after  by  a  second  shot.  He  reported  that  one  of 
my  386-grain  balls  with  a  hole  in  the  point  %4  of 
an  inch  in  diameter,  which  struck  the  elk  just  over 
the  hip  to  the  right  of  the  backbone,  passed  under 
the  ribs  and  out  of  the  hollow,  and  had  been 
stopped  by  the  skin  in  front.  He  cut  out  the  ball, 
which  was  mushroomed.  I  do  not  think  that  it 
lost  any  Weight  in  splintering,  and  it  evidently  had 
not  sufficient  velocity  to  give  the  best  results.  This 
ball  was  a  4o6-grain  bullet,  and  the  hole  was  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  deep.  After  hanging  up  the 

129 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

hindquarters,  we  returned  to  camp,  reaching  it 
just  after  sundown.  Elk,  antelope  and  white-tail 
deer  were  exceedingly  abundant.  Talking  over  the 
subject  of  bears  with  Gottschalk,  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  they  had  not  yet  left  their  winter 
quarters,  and  as  he  was  a  good  hunter,  that  opinion 
should  be  worth  something. 

We  remained  here  for  some  days  longer,  and 
Gottschalk  went  home  May  5.  I  killed  what 
game  was  needed  for  food,  making  some  interest- 
ing experiments  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  hollow 
ball.  On  one  occasion  when  looking  for  elk,  we 
got  to  a  point  from  which  we  should  have  seen 
them,  and  found  that  they  had  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared. Just  then  two  white-tail  deer  came 
toward  us  along  a  trail,  and  approached  us  very 
closely.  We  could  not  do  anything  for  fear  of 
alarming  the  elk,  knowing  that  if  the  deer  ran  off 
the  elk  would  see  them  and  start  too.  The  leading 
deer,  a  doe,  came  up  within  twenty  yards  of  us 
and  could  not  make  us  out  until  she  had  got  around 
to  windward,  when  she  raised  her  tail  and  ran 
swiftly  back.  This  soon  showed  us  where  the  elk 
were  in  a  coulee  very  near  us,  for  they  started  off. 
We  ran  rapidly  up  the  ridge  to  meet  them  at  the 
point  where  we  supposed  they  would  cross,  but  they 
were  too  smart  for  us.  and  went  off  in  an  opposite 

130 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

direction.  The  bull  elk  at  this  time  were  just 
growing  their  horns. 

A  few  days  later,  I  went  out  with  Catlin  and 
had  some  amusement  in  watching  him  while  he 
went  off  after  a  band  of  elk.  They  smelled  him 
before  he  got  anywhere  near  them,  and  went  off; 
but  he  was  not  aware  of  that  and  spent  a  long  time 
crawling  about  and  peeping  up  to  try  and  find  the 
game. 

At  last,  at  5  o'clock,  I  started  for  camp,  but 
before  I  had  mounted  my  horse  my  eye  caught  a 
dark  moving  object  on  the  south  side  of  the  moun- 
tain. It  was  not  a  deer,  nor  an  elk,  and  when  I 
used  the  glasses  it  was  evident  that  it  was  a  grizzly, 
and  presently  I  made  out  a  second.  I  watched  for 
a  few  moments  to  see  what  they  were  likely  to  do, 
and  saw  that  they  were  moving  down  toward  the 
elk  baits  that  had  been  laid  out  when  we  camped 
cut  on  this  creek  several  weeks  ago.  I  mounted 
old  Jim  and  set  out  down  the  mountain.  Not 
daring  to  go  directly  down,  lest  I  should  be  seen,  I 
passed  out  of  their  sight  and  down  a  valley  and 
through  a  canon.  When  I  passed  out  of  it,  I  dis- 
covered the  two  bears  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
deep  gorge,  and  about  five  hundred  yar3s  off.  To 
keep  from  being  seen,  I  was  obliged  to  go  straight 
down  to  the  creek  bed,  for  which  they  headed,  and 

131 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

I  wanted  to  get  there  before  they  did.  I  had  the 
wind  of  them,  and  went  as  fast  and  with  as  little 
noise  as  possible  to  a  point  opposite  to  where  I 
thought  they  should  be  intercepted,  and  there  I  tied 
my  horse,  climbed  up  the  opposite  side  of  the  steep 
bench  and  cautiously  looked  around.  I  soon  saw 
that  they  were  ahead  of  me,  and  as  there  was  much 
brush  on  the  stream  below,  I  began  to  despair  of 
getting  a  shot.  Going  on  a  hundred  yards  further, 
heard  a  noise  which  I  thought  might  be  made  by  a 
bear  just  over  a  little  rise  of  ground.  Creeping  up 
to  the  brow  of  this  rise  and  peering  over,  I  saw 
a  good-sized  grizzly  coming  up  the  hill  toward 
me.  I  dropped  down  on  the  ground,  determined 
to  fire  at  the  first  good  opportunity.  Looking 
down  the  hill,  I  saw  behind  the  first  bear  another 
smaller  one,  and  noticed  that  the  old  one  now  and 
then  sat  up  and  called  to  the  cub  to  hurry  it  along. 
Something  down  the  creek  had  evidently  alarmed 
her.  I  determined  to  await  her  approach  where  I 
was,  but  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  sure 
shot,  as  there  is  always  fight  in  an  old  bear  when 
her  young  are  in  danger.  At  the  moment,  I  could 
not  sight  at  her  from  my  position,  for  she  was 
behind  a  stump.  Presently  she  started  up  the  hill 
again  in  front  of  me,  occasionally  nipping  off  buds 
as  she  walked,  but  always  concealed  by  some  ob- 

132 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

stacle.  Seeing  a  large  pine  tree  just  between  us,  I 
determined  to  get  a  little  closer,  and  noiselessly  and 
rapidly  gained  the  cover  of  a  tree  without  attract- 
ing the  old  one's  attention.  The  cub,  however, 
stopped,  and  would  not  come  on.  This  tree  was 
within  forty  yards  of  the  old  one,  and  as  I  peered 
out  ready  to  shoot,  I  discovered  the  bear  sitting  up 
and  looking  back  after  her  cub.  I  brought  my 
rifle  to  my  shoulder  in  an  instant,  took  deliberate 
aim  at  her  chest  and  pulled.  Just  as  I  did  so, 
however,  the  bear  turned  her  right  side  slightly 
toward  me.  She  fell  with  the  ball  near  or  through 
her  heart.  Quickly  loading,  I  turned  my  attention 
to  the  cub,  which  was  now  sitting  up  trying  to  find 
out  what  had  happened.  I  pulled  on  him,  the  ball 
going  through  the  shoulders  high  up  and  breaking 
the  backbone.  Two  grizzlies  in  two  shots  I 
thought  was  pretty  good  luck.  I  loaded  again  with 
a  light  ball  in  case  any  fresh  shooting  should  be  re- 
quired, but  both  animals  soon  lay  still.  I  then  went 
back  to  my  horse,  determined  to  dress  the  animals 
and  return  to-morrow  with  Catlin  to  skin  them. 
On  going  to  my  horse,  however,  I  was  glad  to  see 
Catlin  not  far  off  coming  toward  me. 

When  he  came  up,  he  said  that  he  had  discov- 
ered the  bears  and  determined  to  be  sure  as  to  what 
they  were,  had  crept  up  within  a  hundred  yards  of 

133 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

them  and  immediately  came  back  to  tell  me,  so  that 
1  could  kill  them.  I  thanked  him,  but  put  a  some- 
what different  construction  on  his  motives,  as  he 
had  several  times  declared  that  he  "had  never  lost 
any  bears." 

The  next  morning,  while  we  were  skinning  the 
bears,  a  ruffed  grouse  began  to  drum,  and  this 
suggested  the  question  so  often  asked  as  to  how 
the  sound  was  produced. 

After  we  had  finished  the  work  of  skinning  the 
bears,  a  rain  squall  came  up  and  we  went  for 
shelter  to  some  pine  trees  near  some  brush,  when 
presently  the  grouse  sounded  his  drum  on  a  dead 
pine  log  about  thirty  yards  distant  and  partially 
screened  by  underbrush.  Choosing  as  good  a  posi- 
tion as  possible  for  observing  him,  I  watched  him 
carefully  through  the  field  glasses.  He  went 
through  the  operation  of  drumming  five  or  six 
times,  and  there  need  be  no  mistake  as  to  how  the 
sound  is  made.53  After  a  few  preliminaries,  he 
seemed  to  grow  larger,  as  if  he  had  inflated  his 
lungs,  and  then  standing  on  tiptoe,  like  the  rooster 
when  crowing,  he  struck  his  wings  violently  over 
the  breast,  producing  the  sound  which  is  often 
heard  half  a  mile.  Each  spell  of  drumming  con- 
sisted of  six  or  eight  blows,  delivered  slowly  at 
first  and  more  rapidly  toward  the  end.  When  the 

134 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

drumming  was  the  more  rapid,  the  crop  seemed  to 
be  swelled  out,  and  the  bird's  contortions  were  very 
odd.  I  was  sure  that  the  wings  did  not  touch  the 
log,  and  that  the  tips  of  the  wings  were  not  used  in 
the  drumming.  During  this  drumming,  his  tail 
was  spread  like  that  of  a  turkey  gobbler.  I  walked 
up  to  within  ten  feet  of  him,  examined  him  closely 
and  satisfied  myself  that  he  was  the  same  bird  I 
had  so  often  seen  in  Minnesota,  and  had  known  as 
ruffed  grouse. 

Later  in  the  day  Catlin  killed  three  elk  with  an 
8o-228-grain  hollow  ball.  Each  was  killed  by  a 
single  shot  at  about  a  hundred  yards.  The  ball 
went  through  the  first  animal  near  the  heart,  two 
splinters  of  lead  being  found  in  the  heart.  A 
second  was  shot  through  the  heart,  and  another 
yearling  bull  was  shot  through  the  back  of  the 
heart  and  lungs.  The  experiment  with  the  hollow 
ball  and  American  powder  with  the  proportion  of 
only  i  to  3.6,  was  very  satisfactory. 

The  bear  cub  killed  the  night  before  had  a  full 
set  of  teeth  and  could  not  have  been  a  spring  cub. 
He  must  have  been  a  year  old.54 

May  1 6  we  went  out  to  look  about.  The  day  was 
blustery,  windy  and  disagreeable.  We  saw  an  old 
bear  track,  but  nothing  more,  but  approached  three 
elk,  which  we  did  not  disturb  because  they  proved 

135 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

to  be  cows.  During  the  day  we  saw  forty-four 
black-  and  white-tail  deer,  most  of  them  very  tame, 
fifteen  elk  and  forty  or  fifty  antelope.  Watching 
the  black-tail  bucks  through  the  glasses,  I  saw  that 
the  horns  had  grown  to  the  length  of  six  or  seven 
inches.  The  animals  were  all  very  unsuspicious. 
On  the  evening  of  May  17,  I  went  back  four 
miles  to  the  mountain  used  as  a  lookout,  when  I 
killed  the  two  bears.  From  here  I  counted  eighty- 
four  elk  and  a  few  deer.  A  bear  had  disturbed 
one  of  the  elk  carcasses  left  by  Catlin  a  few  days 
before,  and  I  watched  by  the  bait  until  nearly  7 
o'clock.  I  was  just  about  starting  for  camp,  when 
what  appeared  to  be  a  good-sized  black  bear  ap- 
peared on  the  high  bench  in  the  rear,  and  a  little 
to  the  northeast.  It  appeared  to  be  going  around 
the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  was  a  mile  and  a 
half  distant.  We  mounted  at  once  and  rode 
rapidly,  trying  to  overtake  him,  for  there  was  not 
much  daylight  left.  Following  the  direction  he 
took,  about  half  a  mile  beyond  the  point  where  we 
had  last  seen  him,  we  got  a  glimpse  of  him  beyond 
a  deep  gulch,  and  just  before  he  entered  some  pine 
timber.  As  he  had  the  wind  of  us,  if  we  followed 
on  his  trail,  we  crossed  the  gulch,  descended  the 
ridge  and  entered  the  little  patch  of  timber  on  the 
other  side,  in  the  hope  that  if  he  came  through  we 

136 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

might  get  a  shot  at  him.  Soon,  however,  it  became 
so  dark  that  we  could  see  nothing  and  returned  to 
camp.  On  the  way  in  I  shot  an  elk  for  meat,  but 
we  did  not  find  him  until  the  next  day.  The  day 
after,  Catlin  climbed  the  mountains  behind  where 
the  bear  was  seen,  and  discovered  that  the  animal, 
probably  frightened  at  my  shot  at  the  elk,  had 
gone  back  up  the  mountain.  Catlin  also  reported 
having  seen  three  mountain  goats  or  ibex.55 

On  the  following  day  we  made  an  exploring 
expedition  up  the  north  fork  of  Shield's  River, 
where  we  saw  some  elk  and  deer,  but  it  is  a  cold 
country  with  narrow  valleys,  walled  in  by  rock  and 
precipitous  mountains  on  the  north.  These  moun- 
tains seemed  a  good  sheep  country,  and  we  saw  a 
band  pretty  low  down.  We  shot  at  them,  but 
without  effect.  It  was  windy  and  squally,  with 
occasional  showers  of  snow  or  rain,  but  by  getting 
in  the  timber  we  escaped  a  wetting.  On  the  return, 
when  we  were  within  three  miles  of  camp,  a  year- 
ling bear  jumped  out  of  a  gulch  on  the  left  and  ran 
ahead  of  us.  I  dismounted  and  fired  at  him  with  a 
102-350  cartridge  at  140  yards,  and  hit  him 
through  and  about  the  head,  the  ball  passing 
through  the  point  of  the  shoulder,  shattering  it. 
No  pieces  of  the  ball  could  be  found.  He  ran  115 
yards  and  was  dead  when  we  reached  him. 

137 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  next  evening,  while  riding  along  the  hill- 
side, I  saw  a  black-tail  buck,  which,  like  the 
proverbial  ostrich,  hid  his  head  behind  a  small 
bush  and  thought  that  he  was  concealed,  even 
though  his  body  was  in  full  view.  I  rode  up 
within  ten  steps  of  him  before  he  ran.  He  was 
quite  thin. 

The  next  day,  which  was  Saturday,  I  set  out  to 
look  for  fat  elk  or  bear,  as  meat  was  getting  low. 
I  killed  two  young  yearling  elk,  one  a  heifer  with- 
out a  calf,  and  the  other  a  bull  with  a  spike  four 
inches  long.  These  two  animals  were  killed,  one  at 
no  yards  and  the  other  at  130  yards,  with  102- 
550  cartridges.  They  fell  in  their  tracks.  The 
weather  seemed  to  be  getting  constantly  warmer, 
and  the  elk  were  following  up  the  grass,  which 
was  growing  green  on  the  mountainside.  The  elk 
seemed  to*  be  separating  into  smaller  bands.  The 
elk  and  the  antelope  would  soon  be  dropping  young. 
From  this  time  on,  no  bear  sign  was  seen,  and 
though  there  was  plenty  of  game,  it  was  useless  to 
kill  any  of  it  unless  we  had  some  use  for  it.  There- 
fore, on  May  26  I  had  a  settlement  with  Catlin 
and  returned  to  Bozeman  on  the  3Oth. 

Experience  had  taught  me  that  the  only  way  to 
travel  through  the  mountains  was  with  a  pack 

138 


' 
••••WIH 

BULL  TRAIN  AT  FORT  BENTON. 


MULE  TRAIN  AT  FORT  BENTON. 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

train,  and  on  the  4th  of  July,  I  left  Bozeman 
for  a  trip  to  the  Yellowstone  Park,  intending  to  go 
up  the  valley  of  the  West  Gallatin  to  its  head  and 
to  return  thence  by  whatever  route  should  prove 
most  feasible.  I  had  with  me  as  packer  and  cook, 
Joseph  Cochran. 

On  the  way  in  we  camped  for  about  a  week  on 
the  head  of  the  West  Gallatin,  in  order  to  secure 
a  supply  of  elk  meat,  which  should  last  us  for  at 
least  a  month.  We  expected  to  dry  the  meat, 
which  must  be  cut  into  thin  strips  and  flakes  and 
exposed  to  the  air  or  sun,  a  smoke  being  kept  up 
beneath  it  to  keep  the  flies  off.  In  order  to  look 
out  a  route  from  the  head  of  this  stream  it  was 
necessary  to  ascend  one  of  the  mountain  peaks  to 
the  east.  From  there  it  seemed  evident  that  we 
must  go  down  into  the  valley  of  the  Madison  River 
above  the  upper  canon,  and  thence  up  one  of  its 
tributaries,  the  Firehole,  to  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Geyser  Basins.  As  I  was  going  down  from  my 
point  of  lookout,  I  followed  a  small  creek  with  an 
occasional  patch  of  willows  at  its  forks,  and  from 
one  of  these  a  cow  elk  rose,  followed  by  her  calf. 
The  cow,  not  at  all  alarmed,  stopped  within  fifty 
yards  of  me,  and  the  calf,  overtaking  her,  began 
to  pull  at  its  mother's  udder.  As  I  was  wonder- 
ing at  their  lack  of  suspicion,  another  cow  rose 

139 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

up,  and  then  its  calf,  and  joined  the  first  cow,  and 
the  second  calf  began  to  nurse.  I  stood  and 
watched  them  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  rode 
away,  leaving  them  standing  there  quietly  nourish- 
ing their  young.  I  never  witnessed  such  a  sight 
before  or  since. 

From  about  the  2Oth  of  July  to  the  25th  of 
August  I  took  great  pleasure  in  visiting  and  in- 
specting all  the  wonders  of  nature  in  this  wonder- 
ful land.  My  mental  attitude  was  very  different 
from  my  first  trip  through  the  Park,  in  the  autumn 
of  1877.  Then,  when  not  startled  by  the  strange- 
ness or  the  beauty  of  these  wonders,  one's  thoughts 
were  occupied  with  forebodings  of  the  next  snow- 
storm which  might  seriously  delay  the  march,  or 
else  by  looking  for  hostile  Indian  signs,  which  were 
almost  everywhere  to  be  seen.  Now  the  climate 
was  delightful.  There  was  plenty  of  food,  no 
known  dangers  and  the  frequent  encounter  of 
pleasant  companions  on  a  mission  similar  to  my 
own. 

After  a  month  of  delightful  sojourning  here  I 
determined  to  leave  the  Park  and  end  the  season 
by  a  hunt  for  bear  on  Clark's  Fork,  to  go  out  to 
the  plains  to  the  south  of  the  Yellowstone  River 
and  finally  to  return  to  winter  quarters  in  Boze- 
man.  I  passed  out  of  the  Park  by  way  of  the  east 

140 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

fork  of  the  Yellowstone,  now  known  as  Lamar 
River,  to  Soda  Butte  Creek,  and  thence  up  that 
stream  to  the  divide  between  the  east  fork  of 
Clark's  Fork  of  the  Yellowstone.  At  Soda  Butte 
Lake  we  camped  for  a  while,  getting  some  splendid 
trout,  and  here  I  killed  the  first  bear  seen  on  the 
trip.  Later  we  stopped  at  Lake  Abundance,  an 
immense  spring  of  unknown  depth,  which  forms 
the  headwaters  of  Shell  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
Lamar  River.  Within  five  hundred  yards  of  this 
lake  is  the  head  of  the  Rosebud  River,  which  runs 
north  to  the  Yellowstone.  My  second  bear  was 
killed  near  this  divide. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  we  crossed  over  the 
divide  to  the  Clark's  Fork  watershed,  and  for  a 
few  days  camped  at  a  famous  salt  lake56  used  by 
the  elk  and  deer.  Game  here  was  very  abundant, 
especially  elk  in  the  pine  timber  country  to  the 
north  of  this  lick. 

Our  next  camp  was  at  the  mouth  of  Crandall 
Creek,  at  the  head  of  the  noted  Clark's  Fork 
Canon.  This  canon  is  about  twelve  miles  in 
length,  with  vertical  walls  of  red  granite  for  the 
entire  distance.  As  the  river  goes  on  during  the 
twelve  miles  of  its  course  through  this  canon,  the 
latter  grows  deeper  and  deeper,  until  at  its  end 
the  walls  are  1,500  feet  in  height.  Below  the  end 

141 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

of  the  red  granite  formation,  the  granite  continues 
for  six  miles  through  various  geological  strata,  and 
on  the  western  slope  there  is  room  enough  for  a 
trail.  Near  the  lower  end  of  the  red  granite 
canon  the  south  fork,57  a  considerable  stream — at 
times  a  river — leaps  from  this  deep,  narrow  canon 
through  the  vertical  walls  of  the  main  canon  and 
falls  almost  as  a  single  cascade  two  hundred  feet 
to  the  river  below.  At  a  distance,  it  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  immense  water-spout  from  a  water 
tank.  In  many  respects  this  is  a  most  remarkable 
canon.  I  have  already  described  it. 

From  here  we  explored  the  high  mountain 
plateau  on  each  side  of  Bear  Tooth  Mountain,  but 
finding  no  bear  sign,  went  on  down  to  Dead  Indian 
Creek,  and  after  camping  there,  followed  the  trail, 
which  leaves  the  valley  of  Clark's  Fork,  because  it 
is  impossible  to  go  down  through  the  canon.  The 
climb  over  Dead  Indian  Hill  is  a  rise  of  two  thou- 
sand feet  by  aneroid  barometer,  and  descending  to 
Clark's  Fork,  the  fall  is  twenty-five  hundred  feet. 
No  bears  were  seen  on  Clark's  Fork,  but  at  Heart 
Mountain  two  were  killed,  but  without  adventure. 
As  autumn  was  approaching,  it  seemed  best  to 
come  down  from  the  mountains,  cross  the  river 
and  gradually  work  around  the  foothills  of  the 
mountain  south  of  the  Yellowstone  Valley  to  the 

142 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

head  of  Boulder  River,  where  grizzly  bears  were 
supposed  to  occur.  This  route  lay  through  the 
Crow  Indian  reservation,  but  as  permission  to  pass 
over  it  was  always  asked  of  the  agent  of  the  Crows, 
I  was  always  treated  well,  and  not  annoyed  by 
beggars.  When  Indians  visited  the  camp  they 
were  always  kindly  received,  and  if  it  was  near 
meal  time  they  were  always  fed  with  the  best  the 
camp  afforded. 

We  made  camp  on  the  east  fork  of  Boulder 
River  about  the  28th  of  September,  and  remained 
there  until  the  iQth  of  November.  Elk  were 
fairly  abundant,  but  deer  were  not  seen.  At  this 
time  I  had  in  my  employ  a  man  named  Milligan, 
who  was  married  to  a  Crow  woman  and  lived  on  a 
ranch  at  the  mouth  of  Deer  Creek.  He  cared  for 
the  horses.  I  promised  that  if  he  would  go  to  the 
ranch  for  a  wagon,  enough  elk  could  be  killed  for 
his  winter  meat,  and  about  that  time  a  band  of 
elk  wandered  to  the  vicinity  of  the  camp  and 
seven  were  killed  and  their  meat  well  taken  care 
of  for  him.  At  this  camp  only  two  bears  were 
killed — without  adventure.  As  the  Crow  Indians 
did  not  hunt  grizzly  bears,  it  was  hoped  that  they 
would  be  found  abundant  on  the  headwaters  of 
the  Boulder. 

On  the  9th  of  November  camp  was  moved  about 
143 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

five  miles  to  the  Boulder  River,  at  a  point  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  above  the  natural  bridge.  Here 
there  was  a  pool  in  the  river  made  by  a  beaver 
dam,  which  afforded  us  a  sufficiency  of  trout.  Mil- 
ligan  and  Cochran  had  their  traps  set,  and  in  a 
few  days  caught  some  beaver,  the  tails  of  which 
were  saved  for  beaver  tail  soup.  While  here,  Wm. 
Judd,  the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Crow  Indian  Agency, 
visited  me  and  remained  to  the  end  of  the  hunt. 
He  was  fond  of  hunting  and  fishing,  and  especially 
expert  in  casting  the  fly.  On  any  favorable  day  he 
would  cast  into  an  air-hole  of  the  frozen  river  and 
haul  out  trout  on  the  ice.  I  had  never  heard  of 
trout  being  caught  with  an  artificial  fly  in  the  depth 
of  winter.  Our  camp  was  well  protected.  We 
had  a  sheltered  place  for  the  tent,  an  abundance 
of  elk  and  black-tail  deer,  trout  whenever  desired, 
and  beaver  tail  for  soup.  Up  to  this  time  the 
weather  had  been  clear  and  bracing,  nor  had  there 
been  any  snowstorms,  such  as  usually  occur  in  Sep- 
tember and  the  early  part  of  October. 

We  had  no  success  with  bears  from  this  camp, 
although  one  came  almost  every  night,  climbed  the 
tree  on  which  Milligan's  fifteen  elk  hams  were 
hung,  carried  one  away  to  a  neighboring  thicket 
and  feasted  on  it  at  his  leisure.  Although  I 
watched  for  him  almost  every  night  until  a  late 

144 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

hour,  he  appeared  to  have  knowledge  of  it,  and  did 
not  come  until  after  I  had  gone  to  bed.  Thinking 
that  his  den  might  be  in  a  nearby  thicket,  Milligan 
and  I  followed  him  there,  but  he  kept  out  of  sight. 
We  found  only  the  bones  of  the  elk,  which  he  had 
picked  clean.  His  depredations  were  at  last 
stopped  by  hanging  the  remaining  pieces  of  elk 
meat  on  a  cottonwood  sapling,  thought  to  be  too 
small  for  him  to  climb.  The  next  morning  we  had 
evidence  that  he  had  tried  to  climb  it,  and  after 
finding  that  he  could  not  do  so,  he  began  to  gnaw 
at  the  sapling  at  about  the  height  of  his  head  when 
standing.  This  was  the  only  bear  of  whose  pres- 
ence we  learned. 

About  December  i,  the  weather  changed  and 
became  stormy,  but  it  was  not  until  the  1 6th  that  the 
storms  began  in  earnest.  Then  it  snowed  almost 
continuously,  and  the  temperature  dropped  almost 
to  zero,  and  possibly  still  lower,  for  my  ther- 
mometer did  not  register  below  that  mark.  By 
December  21,  the  snow  was  sixteen  to  eighteen 
inches  deep  at  camp.  Not  relishing  the  idea  of 
being  snowed  in,  we  packed  up  and  started  down 
the  Boulder  River  to  the  Yellowstone,  instead  of 
attempting  to  cross  over  on  the  snow  drifts  directly 
to  Benson's  Landing. 

So  much  snow  was  encountered  that  day  that  we 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

made  scarcely  ten  miles,  and  it  grew  constantly 
colder.  We  camped  in  the  snow,  as  the  tents  could 
not  be  pitched  because  the  ground  was  frozen  and 
we  had  no  iron  pins.  During  the  night,  the  tem- 
perature fell  below  zero,  but  toward  morning  it 
moderated,  with  a  light  snow,  and  all  day  long 
we  traveled  in  the  face  of  the  north  wind,  the  cold 
growing  more  severe  toward  night.  After  travel- 
ing about  fifteen  miles,  we  came  to  the  camp  of 
Walters,58  a  white  man  with  an  Indian  wife.  He 
gave  us  permission  to  take  shelter  for  the  night  in 
his  cabin,  which  was  about  sixteen  feet  square. 
Walters'  family  consisted  of  four,  and  by  the 
time  my  party  of  four  big  men  with  their  baggage 
was  stowed  away  inside,  there  was  not  much  stand- 
ing room;  still  the  night  was  spent  comfortably. 
The  following  morning  was  clear,  sunshiny  and 
cold.  Mr.  Judd,  being  an  old-timer,  and  realizing 
the  impossibility  of  getting  to*  his  home,  decided  to 
start  at  once  and  make  the  cabin  of  another  white 
man  that  night.  I  determined  to  rest  one  day,  as 
the  last  two  days  had  been  pretty  rough.  Milligan 
had  two  hounds,  and  we  put  them  through  some 
willow  thickets  on  the  stream  above  the  cabin.  He 
arranged  the  stands,  and  with  his  dogs  drove  the 
thicket  and  we  got  two  deer.  The  sun  was  shin- 
ing brightly,  but  it  was  very  cold.  About  ten 

146 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

inches  of  snow  lay  on  the  ground.  At  midnight 
the  wind  began  to  blow,  seeming  to  increase  in 
velocity  until  about  daylight,  when  it  was  moving 
down  stream  with  hurricane  force.  The  air  was  so 
full  of  snow  that  it  was  barely  possible  to  see  the 
wood-pile,  about  thirty  yards  from  the  door. 
Neither  man  nor  beast  could  face  such  a  storm,  and 
we  postponed  our  departure.  It  was  difficult  to 
keep  warm  within  the  cabin,  as  the  wind  appeared 
to  blow  through  its  sides,  though  it  was  a  well- 
chinked  log  house.  The  large  tarpaulin  floor  of 
my  tent  was  stretched  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
cabin  behind  the  kitchen  stove  to  act  as  a  wind- 
break. Each  one  then  put  on  all  his  clothing,  fur 
coat,  leggings,  buffalo  moccasins,  as  if  traveling. 
Then,  by  hovering  close  to  the  stove,  which  was 
kept  filled,  we  managed  to  keep  comfortable  dur- 
ing the  day. 

All  that  day  and  all  the  next,  the  wind  continued 
to  blow  with  unabated  fury.  The  next  morning, 
December  25,  Christmas,  the  wind  had  somewhat 
abated,  and  by  noon  of  the  day  following,  the 
storm  had  spent  its  force,  and  we  could  venture  out 
and  recognize  the  sun,  as  the  air  was  no  longer 
filled  with  fine  snow.  The  afternoon  Milligan 
went  in  search  of  our  horses  and  found  them  in  the 
timber  nearby,  apparently  having  done  well. 

147 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

With  Cochran  I  crossed  the  Yellowstone  on  the 
ice  to  the  stage  station59  on  the  north  side,  in  order 
to  get  the  news  of  the  outside  world.  On  our  way 
we  passed  through  the  river  bottom,  covered  with 
timber  and  willow  brush,  and  there  stumbled  on 
a  pitiable  sight.  At  the  beginning  of  the  blizzard 
all  the  cattle  from  the  distant  ranches  had  sought 
shelter  in  the  river  bottoms.  Without  food  and 
with  only  the  shelter  afforded  by  the  timber  in  such 
a  blizzard,  and  with  the  temperature  so  low,  it  is  a 
wonder  that  any  of  these  cattle  survived.  As  it 
was,  there  was  hardly  a  head  of  them  that  was 
not  frozen.  All  were  so  poor  and  shrunken  that 
it  looked  impossible  for  them  to  survive  until 
spring.  At  the  stage  station  we  learned  that  some 
stages  were  got  through  from  Fort  Keogh,  and  one 
was  expected  on  the  next  day.  It  was  afterward 
ascertained  that  during  the  blizzard  the  tempera- 
ture at  Bozeman  and  at  the  Crow  Agency  regis- 
tered 40  degrees  below  zero.  With  such  tempera- 
ture and  with  a  fifty-mile-an-hour  blizzard,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  either  man  or  beast  exposed  to 
it  could  survive. 

We  made  preparations  to  leave  for  Bozeman 
early  on  the  27th,  expecting  to  make  old  Crow 
Agency  by  night.  The  roads  had  been  swept  clean 
of  snow,  exposing  many  icy  places,  but  the  tern- 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

perature  was  perfectly  mild.  About  midday  my 
riding  mare  Kate  slipped  on  the  ice,  falling  with 
her  full  weight  on  my  right  foot,  clothed  only  in 
a  buffalo  moccasin.  This  would  have  been  a  seri- 
ous matter  at  any  time,  but  was  especially  so  in  the 
midst  of  winter,  when  seventy-five  miles  from  a 
surgeon  or  even  from  a  shelter  from  its  storms. 
The  mare  was  not  injured,  and  as  there  was  no 
alternative,  I  rode  her  for  the  rest  of  the  day  to 
the  old  agency,  conscious  that  my  foot  was  be- 
coming very  much  inflamed.  As  soon  as  I  reached 
there  the  foot  was  placed  in  a  tub  of  snow  water, 
and  everything  done  to  keep  down  the  inflamma- 
tion. The  keeper  of  the  old  agency  was  a  Mohawk 
Indian  named  Milo.  He  had  drifted  West  and 
married  a  Crow  woman  and  settled  down  at  the 
original  Crow  Agency,  determined  to  enter  it  as  a 
homestead  as  soon  as  the  Indian  title  had  been  ex- 
tinguished. His  wife  was  a  deaf  mute,  the  only 
one  of  the  red  race  that  I  have  ever  heard  of.60 
She  was  evidently  quick-witted,  an  accomplished 
sign  talker,  and  the  most  skillful  pantomimist  I 
have  ever  seen. 

My  accident  necessitated  a  change  of  plan.  It 
was  arranged  that  Milligan  should  take  back  with 
him  to  his  ranch  three  of  my  horses  and  keep  them 
for  the  winter.  All  my  camp  baggage  was  to  be 

149 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

left  in  Milligan's  care  until  sent  for.  The  fol- 
lowing day  Milo  was  to  take  me  in  his  wagon  to 
Benson's  Landing,  where  I  might  intercept  the 
mail  wagon  bound  for  Bozeman,  about  twenty-six 
miles  distant.  Cochran  was  to  take  one  pack  ani- 
mal with  my  personal  baggage  and  my  riding  mare 
Kate  to  Bozeman. 

Milo  suggested  to  me  that  he  might  not  be  able 
to  fulfill  his  contract.  There  was  a  possibility  that 
the  ice  in  the  river  would  not  be  strong  enough  to 
bear  his  team.  At  present  the  stream  was  full  of 
running  ice,  except  at  still  places  or  pools,  where 
there  was  little  current.  He  had  heard  that  the 
crossing  at  Benson  was  frozen,  for  yesterday  he 
pointed  out  that  the  ice  might  be  moving  to- 
morrow, in  which  case  there  was  no-  possible  way 
of  getting  me  across  the  river.  The  fact  that  thirty 
miles  below,  opposite  Walters'  ranch,  the  ice  was 
strong  enough  to  bear  single  persons,  was  no  in- 
dication of  the  condition  of  things  at  Benson's. 
Moreover,  the  recent  cold  snap  had  not  lasted  long 
enough  to  freeze  the  upper  reaches  of  the  stream. 

Although  during  the  night  my  foot  had  become 
more  inflamed,  we  made  an  early  start  with  Milo 
and  his  team  for  the  ford  near  Benson's  Landing, 
nine  miles  above.  Several  buffalo  robes  were  taken 
to  provide  against  a  cold  ride  to  Bozeman  that 

150 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

night.  The  route  we  followed  several  times  passed 
near  the  river,  and  the  view  was  not  reassuring,  for 
the  stream  seemed  filled  with  a  mass  of  running 
ice  in  large  blocks.  When  we  came  to  the  ford, 
however,  the  ice  was  still,  but  careful  examination 
had  to  be  made  before  trusting  the  team  on  it.  For- 
tunately three  men  were  camped  on  the  opposite 
side,  who  at  once  responded  to  our  inquiries,  and 
with  their  axes  commenced  sounding  the  ice  for  a 
proper  route  for  the  wagon. 

Milo  and  I  were  silent  but  interested  spectators. 
The  men  reported  that  they  had  found  a  zigzag 
route,  which  they  thought  safe  under  the  circum- 
stances. In  the  mean  time  I  had  told  Milo  of  the 
importance  of  crossing.  Unless  we  made  the  trip 
to-day  it  might  be  a  week  or  more  before  we  could 
do  so.  My  foot — if  none  of  the  bones  were  broken 
— might  by  that  time  be  in  such  a  condition  as  to 
prevent  traveling.  I  preferred  to  risk  the  ice.  I 
asked  Milo  if  he  was  willing  to  risk  the  passage, 
and  his  answer  came  promptly,  "Yes." 

"Then  go  ahead,"  was  the  response. 

I  at  once  threw  off  all  robes,  being  determined  if 
the  team  went  through  the  ice,  to  make  a  fight  for 
life.  If  they  did  so,  I  knew  that  the  current 
would  be  strong  enough  to  take  them  under  the 
ice,  and  I  was  determined  to  make  an  effort  to 

151 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

scramble  on  top  as  they  passed  under.  One  of  our 
friends  from  the  other  side  now  went  ahead  of  the 
horses,  following  the  zigzag  route  selected,  and 
our  relief  was  great  when  we  had  passed  over  the 
deepest  part  of  the  stream — at  this  crossing  nearly 
one  hundred  yards  wide — but  greater  still  when 
solid  ground  was  reached,  and  congratulations 
were  offered  and  received. 

These  men  were  of  the  old  times  then  to  be 
found  on  the  Northwestern  Indian  frontier.  They 
were  the  pioneers  and  forerunners  of  western  civ- 
ilization. Though  improvident,  they  were  brave, 
big-hearted  men,  willing  to  divide  the  last  crust  of 
bread  or  the  last  dollar  with  a  fellow-man  in  dis- 
tress. When  we  reached  the  stage  station61  the 
bob-sled  stage  was  expected,  and  not  long  after- 
ward it  hove  in  sight.  As  it  drew  up,  I  hobbled 
to  the  window  on  a  crutch,  and  saw  a  single  pas- 
senger, who  also  was  leaning  on  a  crutch.  It 
turned  out  that  he  was  U.  S.  Marshal  Botkin,  of 
Montana  Territory,  returning  on  official  business 
from  Fort  Keogh  or  Miles  City.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  it  took  good  nerve  for  a  man  on  crutches  to 
attempt  such  a  trip  in  winter. 

When  we  started  for  Bozeman,  I  found  the 
marshal  an  intelligent,  agreeable  man,  who  had 
been  a  good  deal  about  Washington,  and  was  ac- 

152 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

quainted  with  a  good  many  of  the  public  men  of 
the  day,  of  whom  I  knew  many  from  the  South. 
After  a  warm  supper  at  the  stage  station,62  about 
nightfall  we  set  out  for  the  summit  of  the  divide, 
where  the  only  trouble  was  likely  to  be  found. 
When  we  reached  it,  the  wind  was  blowing  fiercely, 
filling  the  air  with  fine  snow  and  preventing  vision 
for  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  Near  this  point 
the  road  crossed  a  ravine,  then  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide.  Passing  teams  had  packed  down  the  snow 
in  this  ravine,  but  at  present  the  loose  snow  was 
drifting  constantly,  and  the  road-bed — of  packed 
snow — now  seemed  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  above 
the  ground.  It  was  a  good  road,  so  long  as  one 
kept  the  beaten  track,  but  if  the  driver  failed  to  do 
so,  the  wagon,  striking  the  soft  snow,  would  turn 
over  and  with  the  horses  be  buried  in  the  soft  drift 
beneath.  Along  the  road,  pine  saplings  had  been 
planted  as  a  guide  for  all  passersby  in  winter.  The 
drifting  and  blowing  snow  had  obliterated  every 
sign  of  the  beaten  road. 

When  we  reached  this  point,  the  driver  was 
much  discouraged  by  the  drifting  of  the  snow.  It 
was  bright  moonlight,  yet  the  air  was  so  full  of 
fine  snow  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  see  what  was 
before  one.  However,  the  driver  went  some  dis- 
tance along  the  roadway  to  see  whether  he  could 

153 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

be  guided  by  the  pine  saplings.  Presently  he  re- 
turned and  reported  that  he  could  not  see  from  one 
sapling  to  the  next  one,  and  that  we  would  be  sure 
to  get  into  trouble  if  we  attempted  to  go  ahead. 
If  team  or  wagon  got  off  the  beaten  track,  the 
wagon  would  turn  over,  carry  the  team  and  outfit 
with  it,  and  horses,  passengers  and  all  would  be 
tangled  up  together  in  eight  or  ten  feet  of  loose 
snow.  Even  should  no  one  be  hurt,  it  might  be 
10  o'clock  the  next  day  before  help  could  reach  us. 
To  the  two  passengers  who  had  only  two  legs  be- 
tween them,  this  was  not  a  pleasant  prospect.  The 
temperature  was  1 5  degrees  below  zero,  and  I  was 
inclined  to  side  with  the  driver  and  return  to  the 
road  ranch.  Fortunately,  I  had  not  committed 
myself  before  the  marshal  spoke  up  and  said, 
"Well,  now,  Colonel  Pickett,  I  have  been  fighting 
snow  for  the  last  week,  and  am  a  little  used  to  it. 
I  am  in  favor  of  going  ahead.'*  That  speech  stif- 
fened my  backbone  and  the  driver's. 

We  discussed  the  situation  in  full,  and  it  was 
finally  determined  that  the  driver  should  walk 
ahead,  and  after  finding  the  first  sapling  should 
return  slowly,  marking  the  crest  of  the  road-bed 
with  his  feet.  Then  he  should  drive  along  the  road 
to  the  first  sapling,  repeat  his  foot  journey  to  the 
next  sapling,  and  so  until  the  ravine  had  been 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

crossed.  The  plan  was  carried  out,  and  when  we 
reached  the  main  road,  a  load  was  lifted  from  my 
spirits  second  only  to  the  relief  felt  after  safely 
crossing  the  ice  of  the  Yellowstone  the  day  before. 

From  this  point  to  Bozeman  it  was  only  twelve 
miles.  The  road  was  downhill,  well  broken 
through  the  snow,  and  a  bright  moon  was  shining. 
Our  spirits  had  rebounded  after  the  perplexities  of 
the  crossing,  and  with  a  talk  over  incidents  of  our 
past  lives,  and  some  amusing  stories  by  Marshal 
Botkin  of  Washington  life  and  the  nation's  great 
men,  the  time  passed  rapidly  until  10  o'clock  at 
night,  when  we  reached  Bozeman. 

My  friend,  Dr.  Monroe,  examined  my  leg,  told 
me  that  he  thought  no  bones  were  broken,  and  I 
went  to  bed  with  a  contented  mind.  For  a  month 
thereafter,  however,  this  crushed  foot  kept  me  on 
crutches,  yet  the  comforts  of  shelter  from  the 
weather,  and  companionship  of  friends,  caused  me 
almost  to  forget  the  pain  and  inconvenience. 

I  have  always  felt  under  obligations  to  Marshal 
Botkin  for  the  nerve  displayed  that  stormy  night. 
Had  he  faltered  about  the  crossing,  our  arrival  at 
Bozeman  and  shelter  would  have  been  delayed  a 
day.  Marshal  Botkin  was  afterward  elected 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State  of  Montana,  and 
for  some  time  was  acting  Governor. 

i55 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

In  a  long  and  somewhat  eventful  life,  it  has 
been  my  fate  to  pass  through  many  scenes  that  re- 
quired nerve  and  determination.  Some  of  these 
were  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Perryville,  Murfrees- 
boro  (including  the  battle  of  January  2,  of  Breck- 
enridge's  division),  Missionary  Ridge,  and'  the 
battles  of  the  Atlanta  Campaign,  yet  I  have  always 
felt  that  the  crossing  of  the  Yellowstone  on  that 
cold  December  day,  all  things  considered,  required 
the  possession  of  a  higher  degree  of  nerve  and  de- 
termination than  any  crisis  of  my  life. 


156 


I  880 

After  about  a  month  in  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park  during  the  summer  and  early  fall  of  1880,  I 
determined  to  cross  the  mountains  to  the  east  of 
the  Yellowstone  Lake,  drop  down  on  the  waters 
of  the  famous  Stinking  River,  and  spend  the 
remainder  of  the  season  hunting  on  that  stream 
and  its  tributaries  until  driven  out  by  the  snow. 
Then  I  intended  passing  to  the  plains  below  and 
following  the  foothills  of  the  mountain  ranges 
bordering  the  Yellowstone  River  on  the  south,  to 
return  to  my  old  winter  quarters  at  Bozeman. 
George  Herendeen63  was  with  me  as  guide, 
mentor  and  friend,  and  a  Swedish  boy  as  cook  and 
camp  keeper. 

Our  first  camp  half  way  up  the  mountainside 
was  in  a  park  bordering  Brimstone  Lake.  On  the 
south  side  sputtered  a  small  group  of  geysers  that 
were  constantly  steaming  and  fuming.  From  the 
southeast  a  small  mountain  stream  of  pure  cold 
water  entered  the  park.  It  was  ten  or  twelve  feet 
across  and  a  foot  deep.  Near  where  it  entered  the 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

lake,  there  boiled  up  in  the  middle  of  the  stream 
a  clear  cold  spring,  whose  waters  rose  a  foot  above 
the  surrounding  level.  This  water  was  very 
palatable  and  cold,  yet  not  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  distant  the  hot  springs  were  steaming  and 
discharging.  On  the  north  side  of  the  lake 
another  small  mountain  stream  entered  it,  and 
near  this  our  tents  were  placed.  Brimstone  Lake 
was  very  shallow,  with  bubbles  of  gas  constantly 
coming  up  through  the  water. 

For  a  day  or  two-  we  camped  here,  looking  for 
Jones'  Pass  through  the  mountain  range  we  wished 
to  cross.  One  morning,  just  before  September  30, 
we  had  been  kept  housed  in  the  tent  by  a  cold, 
drizzling  rain,  but  about  9  o'clock,  the  rain  having 
ceased,  I  stepped  outside  and  looked  around.  Just 
in  front  of  the  tent  and  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  toward  the  lake,  was  a  grizzly  bear  aimlessly 
rooting  in  the  ground.  I  stepped  into  the  tent, 
secured  my  rifle  and  cartridge  belt  and  passed  out. 
My  dog  Nip,  judging  from  my  actions  that  some- 
thing was  going  to  happen,  followed  at  heel, 
though  I  did  not  notice  him.  Meantime,  the  bear 
had  moved  to  the  left  and  was  a  little  further  off. 
I  concluded  from  its  careless  actions  in  full  view  of 
the  tent  that  it  was  not  much  afraid,  and  rapidly 
approached  it.  When  within  about  125  yards 

158 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  dropped  on  one  knee  and  prepared  to  fire.  In 
the  meantime,  it  had  paid  no  attention  to  me. 
When  it  exposed  its  side,  I  fired.  As  if  expect- 
ing it,  and  without  looking  around,  the  bear  came 
charging  directly  toward  me,  with  long  jumps. 
The  dog  met  it  about  half  way,  dashed  at  it, 
when  it  turned  and  again  exposed  its  side.  I  fired 
again.  At  the  crack  of  the  rifle  the  bear  left  the 
dog  and  dashed  straight  toward  me.  The  dog  was 
unable  to  stop  the  charge,  but  when  within  thirty 
feet  I  delivered  another  shot,  which  stopped  her, 
for  it  proved  to  be  a  female. 

In  the  meantime^  George  Herendeen  had  come 
up  carrying  the  first  weapon  he  could  pick  up,  a 
lo-gauge  shotgun  loaded  with  4  drams  of  powder 
and  9  buckshot.  He  gave  her  the  coup  de  grace, 
shooting  at  the  shoulder,  but  the  buckshot  flat- 
tened on  the  bone.  She  weighed  only  about  350 
pounds,  but  had  what  is  called  by  furriers  a  silk- 
robe  skin.  Each  of  the  shots  hit  her,  and  any  one 
of  them  would  have  been  fatal  in  a  short  time. 

The  actions  of  this  bear  were  so  aggressive  that 
we  were  curious  to  learn  how  she  had  entered  this 
basin,  and  as  it  had  rained  enough  to  make  the 
ground  soft,  this  was  not  difficult.  An  examination 
of  her  tracks  in  the  mud  showed  that  she  had 
come  down  the  stream  on  the  north  side  of  the 

159 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

park,  had  passed  near  the  tent  and  out  into  the 
open  prairie  near  the  lake,  where  I  had  first  seen 
her.  Her  organs  of  scent  must  have  told  her  that 
people  were  in  the  tent.  She  had  evidently  come 
into  the  camp  seeking  trouble,  and  at  my  first 
shot  realized  whence  it  came,  and  did  not  look  up 
to  see. 

From  this  camp,  we  continued  to  search  for 
Jones'  Pass  over  the  range.  Captain  Jones,  when 
he  went  through  the  pass  which  bears  his  name, 
had  as  guides  some  Shoshoni  Indians,  and  we  felt 
certain  that  this  must  be  the  best  pass.  At  length 
we  determined  that  a  certain  pass  must  be  Jones', 
and  arranged  to  move  the  next  day.  As  we  were 
out  of  meat,  I  had  killed  a  fat  black-tail,  brought 
it  near  the  trail  we  should  probably  follow,  and 
hung  it  up  in  a  tree  out  of  reach  of  wolves  and 
foxes.  The  next  day  when  we  passed  near  this 
tree,  my  dog  rushed  ahead  and  forced  some  animal 
to  tree.  Supposing  it  a  black  bear,  I  made  a  care- 
ful approach  in  order  to  get  a  sure  shot.  I  could 
see  the  animal  indistinctly,  but  before  getting  near 
enough  to  shoot  it,  it  had  sprung  to  the  ground, 
drove  off  the  dog,  and  away  they  went.  On 
examining  the  surroundings,  I  saw  that  the  animal 
had  climbed  the  tree,  cutting  the  leather  strap  by 
which  the  deer  hung,  descended,  and  was  at  work 

160 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

on  the  carcass  when  the  dog  drove  him  up  the 
tree.  I  saw  that  the  work  was  that  of  a  skunk 
bear,  or  wolverine.  This  was  the  third  time 
during  my  travels  in  the  mountains  that  I  had  seen 
this  animal  in  life.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  weasel 
family,  and  seems  to  have  the  head  and  face  of 
the  common  skunk,  and  the  body  of  the  bear.  It 
sits  up  on  its  hindfeet  like  a  bear  or  a  badger,  and 
is  remarkable  for  its  long  claws.  In  a  fight,  it  is 
said  to  be  the  "boss"  of  the  mountains.  The  dog, 
however,  easily  makes  it  take  a  tree.  In  this  case 
Nip  soon  announced  that  it  was  again  treed,  but 
as  I  approached,  it  jumped  to  the  ground,  and 
away  the  two  went  until  the  dog  overtook  it. 
I  soon  gave  up  the  pursuit. 

We  crossed  the  range  on  what  was  supposed  to 
be  Jones'  Pass.  It  was  not  that,  but  the  mistake 
was  not  discovered  until  we  were  too  far  down 
the  mountain  to  turn  back.  At  last  we  came  to  a 
ledge  of  rock  in  the  trail  which  required  a  jump 
down  of  three  feet,  and  as  our  pack  animals  were 
loaded  with  two  and  a  half  months'  supply  of  pro- 
visions, it  required  all  Herendeen's  experience  as 
a  mountain  man  to  get  the  loaded  horses  below 
the  ledge.  At  last,  however,  it  was  done  without 
unpacking,  and  a  little  later,  coming  to  a  small 
meadow  with  water,  we  made  camp.  The  reason 

161 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

for  doing  so  was  that  the  woods  appeared  to  be 
full  of  elk,  whistling. 

After  dinner  Herendeen  sallied  out  for  meat, 
and  soon  returned  with  the  news  that  he  had 
killed  a  fat  bull  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
camp.  We  brought  in  the  hams  and  loins,  and 
were  now  well  provided  with  fresh  meat. 

The  next  day  was  October  i,  and  the  camp  was 
moved  about  fourteen  miles  to  the  main  tributary 
of  the  Stinking  River,  the  north  fork  lying  at  this 
camp  about  3,500  feet  below  the  mountain  passes 
over  which  we  had  just  come.  We  had  a  beautiful 
camp.  Nearby  was  a  small  meadow,  and  meander- 
ing through  it  a  clear  brook  full  of  small  trout 
four  or  five  inches  in  length,  which  were  delicious 
when  cooked  whole.  The  main  stream  was  abund- 
antly supplied  with  larger  trout.  The  weather  was 
clear  and  bracing,  and  for  about  a  week  we  stayed 
here,  enjoying  every  hour.  Near  the  head  of 
this  stream  the  mountain  peaks  rise  about  4,000 
feet  above  the  valley,  and  from  our  camp  down 
to  the  debouchment  of  a  stream  into  the  plain,  the 
valley  is  an  almost  continuous  canon  for  about  fifty 
miles.  The  vertical  cliffs  which  wall  in  the  valley 
are  composed  of  a  red  conglomerate  of  volcanic 
origin  that  at  some  early  geological  period  must 
have  been  forced  up  through  the  earth's  crust,  and 

162 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

in  after  ages,  by  the  action  of  water  or  air,  so 
eroded  that  they  have  assumed  grand  and  some- 
times fantastical  forms.  I  saw  several  cathedrals 
with  tall  needle-shaped  spires.  There  was  a  solid 
block  of  city  buildings,  a  bank  and  safe  vault. 
Looking  up  on  the  cliff  opposite,  there  was  out- 
lined against  the  sky  an  old  woman,  a  grand- 
mother, comfortably  seated  in  a  colossal  arm- 
chair. Before  her  stood  a  boy,  her  grandson,  his 
hands  in  his  pockets — fumbling  probably  with  his 
marbles — the  grandmother  gently  chiding  him  for 
some  prank,  and  he  humbly  taking  the  reproof. 
Such  fantasies  were  developed  in  my  imagination 
at  the  time,  and  I  still  recall  them.  Among  the 
thickets  was  a  tall  needle-shaped  spire  a  hundred 
feet  high,  ten  feet  across  at  its  base,  with  a  great 
round  ball,  a  boulder,  balanced  on  this  pinnacle. 
We  remained  about  a  week  at  this  camp,  and  I 
killed  a  bear.  Here  occurred  an  incident  illus- 
trating a  phase  of  the  human  mind  that  most 
observant  people  have  noticed.  This  is,  that  when 
from  any  cause  one  person  is  intently  thinking  of 
someone  in  front  of  him  and  at  the  same  time 
gazing  at  him,  the  object  of  his  thoughts  will 
involuntarily  turn  his  head  and  look  straight  at 
the  gazer.  The  same  psychological  fact  obtains 
between  man  and  some  of  the  lower  animals. 

163 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Finding  that  a  bear  had  been  seen  near  a  por- 
tion of  elk  killed  three  miles  above  camp,  I  deter- 
mined to  watch  for  him  one  evening,  and  was  on 
hand  early.  My  reconnaissance  of  the  afternoon 
had  led  me  to  believe  that  the  bear  slept  in  a 
thicket  across  the  river.  I  chose  my  position  so 
that  I  could  overlook  this  thicket  as  well  as  com- 
mand ai  view  of  a  probable  approach  from  other 
directions.  The  elk  bait  lay  at  the  foot  of  a 
bench  about  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high,  and  by  ap- 
proaching it  from  above  a  shot  could  be  delivered 
at  twenty-five  or  thirty  yards.  The  wind  was  blow- 
ing gently  down  stream,  the  proper  direction. 

About  sundown  I  saw  occasionally  a  dark  spot 
appear  on  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  and  after  two 
or  three  examinations  of  the  surroundings,  the 
bear  stepped  out  confidently  and  crossed  the  river 
toward  the  bait.  From  time  to  time  I  peeped  over 
the  bench,  and  at  length  found  that  he  had  reached 
it.  I  was  wearing  a  pair  of  Indian  moccasins,  for 
when  careful  work  in  approaching  a  bear  was 
needed,  the  hob-nailed  leather  hunting  shoes  I 
usually  wore  were  taken  off.  Gradually  approach- 
ing the  rim  of  the  bench,  I  found  the  bear  busy, 
and  looking  through  my  field  glasses,  saw  that  he 
was  lying  lengthwise  on  the  elk,  his  head  away 
from  me.  The  position  was  uncertain  for  a  fatal 

164 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

shot.  I  crept  up  to  within  twenty  or  twenty-five 
yards  with  the  rifle  ready.  Suddenly,  without 
warning,  he  sprang  to  the  left,  made  one  or  two 
jumps  and  stopped  broadside  to  me,  looking 
directly  at  me.  This  sudden  action  disconcerted 
me  and  I  fired  so  hastily  as  to  miss  him,  perhaps 
a  fortunate  occurrence,  for  had  he  been  hit,  even 
fatally,  he  would  have  rushed  directly  at  me.  Still, 
as  I  was  on  the  uphill  side,  I  think  he  could  have 
been  managed. 

For  an  instant  after  the  report  of  the  rifle  he 
stopped,  and  then  bounded  off  to  the  crossing  of 
the  river  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant. 
As  he  ran,  he  was  given  a  good  shot  behind  the 
short  ribs,  which  rolled  him  over,  but  he  jumped 
up  and  soon  reached  the  timber,  closely  followed 
by  Nip.  The  dog  brought  him  to  bay,  and  I 
followed  at  my  best  pace.  When  I  reached  the 
river  the  bear  had  crossed,  followed  by  the  dog, 
which  again  brought  him  to  bay  in  the  open 
timber.  By  this  time,  however,  it  had  become  so 
dark  in  this  canon  that  the  bear  could  not  be 
distinguished  so  that  I  could  shoot  at  him.  Close 
to  the  river  on  that  side  was  an  abrupt  bluff,  and 
as  the  actions  of  the  bear  and  dog  indicated  that 
they  were  moving  to  the  left,  I  determined  to  cross 
the  stream  below  and  endeavor  to  intercept  them. 

165 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

I  walked  rapidly  down  the  bank  under  cover  of 
the  willow  brush,  waded  the  knee-deep  river  at  a 
rapid,  fifty  yards  across,  and  hurried  to  the  bluff, 
but  the  bear  was  ahead  of  me.  He  was  evidently 
in  a  bad  humor,  and  eager  to  punish  the  dog, 
which  kept  not  closer  than  twenty  yards  from  him. 
Soon  the  bear  turned  up  the  valley  of  the  stream, 
and  I  followed  as  fast  as  the  rocks  would  permit. 
It  soon  became  too  dark  to  see  distinctly,  and  the 
barking  of  the  dog  indicated  that  the  bear  was 
traveling  faster  than  the  hunter,  so  I  reluctantly 
whistled  off  the  dog,  recrossed  the  river,  regained 
my  shoes,  and  with  some  difficulty  found  Kate, 
who--  nickered  cheerfully  at  my  approach,  mounted 
and  reached  camp  after  9  o'clock,  a  discouraged, 
disappointed  individual.  A  warm  supper,  dry 
clothing,  warm  blankets  and  a  sound  sleep  greatly 
refreshed  me,  so  that  the  next  morning  I  felt  per- 
fectly well. 

The  discovery  by  the  bear  that  I  was  approach- 
ing convinced  me  of  the  truth  of  the  theory  of  a 
psychological  magnetism  that  I  have  spoken  of 
before.  This  bear  could  not  possibly  have  seen  me 
nor  taken  alarm  at  any  noise  that  I  made,  for  1 
was  in  moccasins  and  the  ground  was  level  and 
clear  of  brush.  Also  I  had  the  wind  of  him. 
Going  back  over  the  ground  next  day,  I  found  a 

166 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

pool  of  blood,  where  the  animal  had  lain  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  river. 

On  October  21  we  moved  camp  about  seven 
miles  downstream  to  a  spot  near  the  river  bank 
well  protected  by  timber.  On  the  opposite  side 
the  red  conglomerate  cliffs  rose  about  a  hundred 
feet  vertically  from  the  water's  edge.  Trout  were 
abundant  and  easily  caught.  At  this  camp  I  killed 
three  large  grizzly  bears,  each  with  a  dark, 
heavily  furred  robe.  None  of  the  three  caused  me 
any  great  trouble,  for  in  each  case  the  first  shot 
was  fatal. 

One  bright  morning  the  mountains  on  the  north 
side  of  the  stream  were  climbed  to  a  height  of 
about  three  thousand  feet  in  search  of  mountain 
sheep.  Since  leaving  the  band  of  elk  we  had  not 
seen  many  deer,  and  four  healthy  souls — including 
the  dog — consumed  a  good  deal  of  meat.  From 
one  point  a  fine  view  was  had  of  the  mountains 
across  the  Stinking  River  gorge,  now  white  with 
snow.  With  the  field  glasses  I  could  detect  a 
plainly  defined  arch,  which  spanned  one  of  the 
chasms  or  gorges.  The  arch  was  elliptical  in  shape 
and  apparently  of  one  hundred  feet  span,  of  gray 
stone,  and  was  plainly  outlined  against  the  white 
snow  lying  on  the  side  of  the  gorge  below.  I 
examined  it  long  and  carefully  through  a  pair  of 

167 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

good  field  glasses,  and  was  convinced  of  the  exist- 
ence here  of  a  natural  bridge.  The  autumn  was 
so  late  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  further  examine 
into  the  matter,  nor  in  later  years  did  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  this  ever  present  itself. 

After  spending  a  week  at  this  camp  and  dis- 
posing of  or  frightening  away  the  remaining  bears 
in  the  neighborhood,  I  sent  George  downstream 
to  look  for  a  new  camp.  He  returned  in  the 
evening  and  reported  having  found  a  good  camp 
and  nearby  had  come  upon  a  band  of  elk  and  had 
killed  a  couple  near  the  camping  spot 

Accordingly,  on  the  2  9th,  we  moved  about  seven 
miles  downstream  to  the  mouth  of  a  large  tribu- 
tary coming  in  from  the  south,  and  thence  about 
two  miles  up  that  stream  to  the  chosen  camping 
place.  As  we  afterward  learned,  there  were 
many  elk  horns  in  this  valley,  which  indicated  that 
during  February  and  March,  at  which  time  these 
animals  shed  their  horns,  they  had  made  their  way 
thus  far  back  to  the  mountains  from  their  winter 
range  on  the  plains  below.  From  this  circum- 
stance I  named  the  stream  Elk  Horn,  and  it  bears 
that  name  to-day. 

The  camp  was  a  good  one,  the  grass  very  luxu- 
riant, making  the  spot  a  fine  grazing  ground  for 
elk  and  other  animals.  Soon  after  making  camp, 

168 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  best  parts  of  the  two  elk  were  hung  up  in 
camp.  We  soon  discovered  that  we  were  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  below  a  runway  traveled  each 
year  by  the  black-tail  deer,  when  the  snows  of 
autumn  warned  them  that  winter  was  near.  As 
soon  as  the  snow  becomes  too  deep  to  permit  them 
to  feed,  these  deer  come  down  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  Bad  Lands  on  the  plains  below  the 
foothills.  In  the  spring,  as  the  snows  disappear 
and  the  young  grass  starts,  they  return  by  the  same 
route.  By  watching  this  runway  we  could  get  a 
deer  almost  any  day  as  long  as  the  migration 
continued,  but  as  soon  as  the  snow  accumulated, 
as  it  did  before  we  left  this  camp,  the  deer  ceased 
to  pass ;  no  doubt  because  they  had  all  gone  down. 
These  runways  are  not  along  the  valleys  of  the 
streams,  but  below  the  high  mountain  ridges,  prob- 
ably because  the  deer  know  that  in  the  valley  their 
enemies  would  watch  for  them. 

One  of  the  elk  killed  by  Herendeen  lay  in  the 
valley,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  camp, 
and  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  in  another  direc- 
tion, was  a  second.  These  baits  were  soon  dis- 
covered by  the  bears,  and  a  few  evenings  after- 
ward, watching  at  the  one  above  camp,  I  killed  a 
large  grizzly  with  a  dark,  well- furred  robe.  He 
required  only  a  single  shot,  and  gave  no  trouble. 

169 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

A  few  evenings  later,  while  watching  the  elk 
carcass  on  the  mountainside  near  camp,  I  saw  a 
bear.  The  only  way  to  approach  him  was  to  go 
up  the  valley  and  to  climb  over  a  rocky  ledge  to  a 
position  about  on  his  level  and  within  twenty  or 
twenty-five  yards  of  him.  I  knew  that,  unless  hit 
through  the  brain  or  spinal  cord,  this  bear,  when 
shot,  would — as  bears  usually  do — place  his  head 
between  his  hindlegs  and  roll  down  the  hillside. 
The  first  shot  was  delivered  at  his  mass,  and  he 
acted  as  I  expected.  I  quickly  reloaded,  and  when 
he  stopped  rolling  and  straightened  up  before  run- 
ning, I  gave  him  a  second  shot,  which  was  suffi- 
cient. After  dressing  the  carcass  I  found  that  the 
big  horse  that  I  had  ridden  had  freed  himself  and 
gone  to  the  herd,  and  to  reach  camp  I  was  obliged 
to  wade  the  creek. 

Herendeen  had  told  me  that  an  elk  he  had  shot 
at  and  probably  wounded  had  gone  up  a  dry 
ravine  which  came  in  just  above  the  camp,  and  I 
determined  toi  investigate  in  that  direction,  for  it 
was  possible  that  he  had  died  from  the  wound. 
Following  up  this  dry  gulch  that  had  been  washed 
out  six  or  eight  feet  deep  and  ten  or  twelve  feet 
wide  at  the  top  by  the  melting  snows,  I  found  his 
body  and  saw  that  a  bear  had  begun  to  feed  on 
it.  I  selected  a  watch  point,  and  George,  the  dog 

170 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

and  myself  were  promptly  on  the  ground.  Nip 
had  recently  acquired  the  habit  of  bolting  for  the 
bear  before  the  first  shot  was  fired,  and  George 
went  with  me  to  hold  the  dog,  which  otherwise,  in 
his  anxiety  to  have  a  share  in  the  excitement,  would 
spoil  the  evening's  work.  The  point  selected  for 
the  reconnaissance  was  on  the  side  of  a  valley 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  bait  and  commanded  a 
view  of  the  high  sloping  mountainside  opposite  for 
about  one  mile.  This  was  without  timber,  and 
from  the  signs  seen  in  the  morning,  I  expected 
the  bear  to  come  from  that  direction.  We  had  not 
long  to  wait.  Glimpses  of  a  dark  patch  were  seen, 
now  disappearing  and  again  coming  in  view  down 
the  mountainside.  It  was  a  large,  dark-coated 
grizzly,  headed  directly  for  the  elk.  The  dog 
saw  him,  and  was  trembling  with  excitement.  We 
kept  well  out  of  sight  until  the  bear  disappeared 
near  the  carcass.  I  waited  for  a  time  in  order  that 
he  might  get  thoroughly  to  work,  and  be  so  in- 
tently engaged  as  to  be  a  little  off  his  guard.  The 
understanding  with  Herendeen  was  that  he  was  to 
turn  the  dog  loose  at  the  first  shot.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  had  determined  my  line  of  approach,  and 
intended  to  enter  the  gulch  below  the  bait  and 
follow  it  up,  and  thereafter  to  be  governed  by 
circumstances. 


Hunting  &t  High  Altitudes 

When  I  reached  the  gulch  at  the  point  I  had 
determined  on  and  had  cautiously  reconnoitered,  I 
could  see  nothing  of  bait  or  bear.  Something  had 
happened  since  morning.  I  therefore  cautiously 
withdrew,  and  by  a  circuitous  route  reached  a 
point  further  up  the  gulch — ground  well  above 
the  bear,  so  that  I  might  locate  him,  for  I  was 
sure  he  was  there.  Reaching  this  higher  ground, 
and  with  a  clear  view  of  the  place  where  the  elk 
had  been,  it  was  not  to  be  seen.  Evidently  it  had 
been  dragged  down  into  the  gulch  within  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  of  where  it  had  been.  As  the  elk 
weighed  at  least  a  thousand  pounds,  the  bear  that 
had  moved  it  must  have  been  a  large  one  and  full 
of  resource. 

I  now  removed  my  heavy  leather  shoes  and 
cautiously  approached  the  spot,  field  glasses  in 
hand.  The  gulch  was  deep  and  narrow.  I  wanted 
to  make  a  sure  shot,  and  to  do  this  it  would  be 
necessary  to  get  very  close  to  the  bear  before  firing. 
The  utmost  care  was  necessary  to  prevent  even  a 
slight  noise,  for  these  bears  have  a  keen  sense  of 
hearing,  as  well  as  scent.  Stooping  and  stealthily 
approaching,  I  rose  partly  up  when  within  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet  of  the  bear.  He  was  there,  but 
it  had  become  so  dark  in  that  hole  that  I  used  my 
glasses  to  see  him.  He  was  lying  on  the  carcass 

172 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

with  his  head  from  me,  exposing  his  back  and 
shoulders.  His  head  was  so  placed  that  I  feared 
to  shoot  at  it.  I  determined  then  to  shoot  at  his 
back,  just  behind  the  shoulders,  depending  on  get- 
ting a  second  shot  before  he  could  do  much.  When 
the  shot  was  fired,  the  bear  gave  no  squall — an 
indication  that  he  was  ready  to  fight — and 
scrambled  up  the  side  gulch  toward  which  he  was 
headed.  Before  he  had  gone  ten  feet  from  the 
edge  of  the  gulch,  I  fired  a  second  shot  at  his  body 
without  stopping  him.  Just  then  the  dog  passed 
me  like  a  whirlwind.  It  was  important  to  stop 
the  bear  before  he  reached  a  pine  thicket  toward 
which  he  was  headed,  and  I  fired  a  third  shot, 
hoping  to  hit  near  the  root  of  the  tail  and  paralyze 
his  hindquarters.  Just  as  I  was  on  the  point  of 
pulling  the  trigger,  the  dog  got  in  the  way,  and 
I  raised  the  rifle  slightly,  just  grazing  the  rump 
of  the  bear,  which,  with  the  dog,  had  disappeared 
into  the  pine  thicket.  Out  of  patience  with  myself, 
and  grumbling  over  the  bad  luck  that  after  so 
much  work  the  bear  should  escape,  I  followed 
rapidly — luckily  on  my  side  of  the  gulch — and 
had  reached  a  position  still  further  up  the  gulch, 
when  I  heard  a  rustling  in  the  pine  thicket,  and 
out  rushed  Nip,  closely  followed  by  the  bear,  evi- 
dently furious  with  rage.  Now,  an  ill-bred,  badly 

173 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

mannered  dog,  under  these  circumstances  would 
naturally  have  rushed  back  to  his  master  for  pro- 
tection, but  Nip  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  With  an 
intelligence  quite  human,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  he 
kept  just  far  enough  ahead  of  the  bear  to  lead  it 
on,  the  dog's  head  turned  first  on  one  side,  then 
on  the  other,  always  with  one  eye  on  the  pursuer. 
He  led  the  bear  straight  across  the  open  ground, 
causing  him  to  expose  his  side  to  me,  and  saying  as 
plainly  as  could  be,  "Now,  boss,  give  him  a  good 
shot."  I  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  hit- 
ting him  in  the  side.  The  ball  should  have  knocked 
him  down,  but  did  not.  On  the  contrary,  he  turned 
from  the  dog  and  rushed  straight  toward  me.  In 
reloading,  the  shell  stuck  in  the  chamber  and  the 
breech-block  could  not  be  closed.  The  bear  was 
near  the  brink  of  the  gulch,  evidently  about  to 
jump  over. 

The  dog  did  not  hesitate.  As  soon  as  the  bear 
turned  on  me  he  was  immediately  at  the  bear's 
heel,  and  at  the  critical  moment  nabbed  it  and 
held  on  as  long  as  he  dared.  The  angry  bear 
whirled,  turned  on  the  dog  and  chased  him  back 
fifty  yards  to  the  edge  of  the  bottom.  This  gave 
me  time  to  reload,  and  when  the  bear  stopped,  I 
fired  again.  Again  it  charged  me  on  a  full  run, 
and  this  time  the  dog  was  not  able  to  stop  him. 

174 


'Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Just  before  he  reached  the  gulch,  I  fired  another 
shot,  and  on  reaching  its  edge,  he  had  become  so 
weakened  from  loss  of  blood  that  he  could  not 
make  the  jump,  but  fell  down  into  the  ravine,  and 
was  soon  beyond  doing  any  harm. 

During  the  last  part  of  this  excitement,  I  noticed 
George  Herendeen  standing  by  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree,  and  after  the  bear  had  fallen  into  the  gulch 
and  become  quiet,  George  came  up  to  me  and  said, 
"Old  fellow,  a  bear  will  get  you  yet!"  I  replied 
by  asking,  "Well,  George,  why  didn't  you  pitch  in 
and  help?" 

"Help?"  he  answered;  "now  you  are  forgetting 
that  you  have  always  said,  in  a  scrimmage  with  a 
bear  you  did  not  wish  any  help;  that  you  could 
handle  them,  and  that  if  anything  happened  it 
was  your  lookout." 

This,  of  course,  was  true;  but  if  I  had  needed 
help,  George  would  certainly  have  done  his  part. 

I  had  always  felt  that  if  by  any  chance  my  rifle 
should  fail  me,  as  a  last  resort,  I  would  face  the 
bear,  use  the  rifle  with  its  heavy  breech  action  as  a 
club  and  endeavor  to  deliver  a  crushing  blow  over 
the  animal's  brain.  I  felt  that  on  this  occasion  I 
came  near  being  obliged  to  face  this  test.  If  the 
bear  had  succeeded  in  jumping  the  gulch,  I  do  not 
know  what  might  have  happened. 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

George  Herendeen's  remarks  on  this  occasion 
suggest  a  digression. 

After  the  seasons  of  1877  and  1878,  I  had 
about  made  up  my  mind  that  I  knew  nearly  as 
much  of  the  habits  of  bears  as  almost  any  old- 
timer  that  I  could  secure  as  guide.  Few  of  these 
men  had  "lost  any  bears" ;  they  cared  nothing  for 
whatever  glory  attached  to  bear  slaying,  and  on 
these  occasions  were  not  of  much  use  except  to 
help  take  care  of  the  skins.  I  had  concluded  also 
that  I  had  acquired  such  skill  in  the  use  of  the 
rifle,  and  such  confidence  in  myself,  that  I  did  not 
fear  an  encounter  with  any  of  the  wild  animals  to 
be  met  with.  I  felt,  too,  that  if,  with  the  modern 
breech-loader  and  his  supposedly  superior  intelli- 
gence, man  was  not  equal  to  an  encounter  with  a 
grizzly  bear,  he  had  better  stay  at  home.  I  con- 
sidered also  the  danger  of  being  shot  by  a  com- 
panion in  the  excitement  of  the  scrimmage  or  of 
my  shooting  him,  for  on  these  occasions  few  people 
keep  cool.  For  these  reasons  I  always  preferred 
to  hunt  alone,  whether  by  night  or  day,  finding 
the  game  for  myself  and  taking  care  of  it. 

An  objection  to  this  practice  was  the  danger  of 
accident  from  the  rifle,  from  the  stumbling  or  fall- 
ing of  the  horse  or  from  a  fall  through  some  acci- 
dent which  might  result  in  a  broken  limb  or  in 

176 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

some  minor  mishap,  which  would  prevent  locomo- 
tion. I  had  therefore  made  it  a  rule  in  camp  that 
if  at  nightfall  any  one  of  the  party  failed  to  make 
his  appearance,  the  other  members  should  turn 
out  and  search  for  him.  The  usual  practice  of 
sportsmen  coming  from  the  East  to  hunt  bear  was 
to  depend  on  tile  guide  to  find  the  bear,  to  take 
the  sportsman  up  to  it,  and  then  allow  the  sports- 
man to  do  the  shooting.  I  felt  that  unless  the 
hunter  had  so  much  confidence  in  his  rifle  and 
himself  as  to  be  willing  to  tackle  these  bears  alone, 
he  had  better  not  interfere  with  them. 

In  those  days,  when  traveling  over  the  plains  or 
in  the  mountains,  a  pack  outfit  was  essential  to 
comfort,  its  size  depending  on  that  of  the  party. 
Absolutely  essential  was  an  expert  packer,  expert 
not  only  in  lashing  the  loads  on  the  horses,  but 
resourceful  in  repairing  the  outfit  and  skilled  in 
passing  over  difficult  points  of  the  mountains  or 
in  getting  around  or  over  snowdrifts.  In  these 
regards  George  Herendeen  was  a  first-class  man, 
and  he  was  not  at  all  afraid  of  a  bear. 

The  bear  killed  on  this  occasion  had  more  vital- 
ity than  any  I  ever  encountered  and  was  the 
fiercest.  In  his  last  struggles,  he  still  endeavored 
to  get  across  the  gulch.  To  kill  him  required  six 
bullets  from  a  high-powered  rifle  loaded  with  106 

177 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

grains  of  C.  &  H.  No.  6  powder,  with  340  grains 
express  bullet.  During  the  season  of  1 8  8 1 ,  with  a 
rifle  of  similar  power,  I  killed  twenty-three  grizzly 
bears,  seventeen  of  which  were  killed  with  a  single 
ball.  Into  this  bear  only  one  satisfactory  shot  was 
fired,  the  fourth,  at  the  time  when  the  dog  led  him 
by  me.  Most  of  the  shots  were  fired  from  the 
shoulder  and  during  the  excitement  of  the  scrim- 
mage. The  dog  no  doubt  saved  me  very  serious 
complications,  and  was  the  hero  of  the  day. 

We  remained  at  this  camp  until  November  12, 
when  the  signs  showed  that  winter  was  at  hand. 
Black-tail  deer  had  ceased  passing  along  their  run- 
way. Other  game  had  become  scarce.  Flour  and 
other  cereals  were  about  exhausted,  and  snow  was 
accumulating  until  it  had  become  sixteen  inches 
deep  on  the  level.  The  feed  for  seven  or  eight 
head  of  horses  was  becoming  scarce,  and  our  fresh 
meat  had  given  out.  These  accumulated  reasons 
led  us  to  break  camp  on  this  day,  and  to  move 
down  to  get  out  of  the  mountains.  That  morning 
we  had  but  a  single  baking  of  flour  and  no  fresh 
meat. 

When  we  reached  the  main  stream  below,  we 
found  just  in  front  an  abundance  of  meat — a  band 
of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  elk.  Our  five  pack 
animals  were  so  heavily  loaded  that  it  was  difficult 

178 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

to  find  a  place  for  anything  more.  The  eight 
bear  skins  had  taken  the  place  of  all  the  food  con- 
sumed since  crossing  the  mountains.  The  valley 
of  the  river  was  narrow,  not  more  than  two  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  abrupt  mountainside  to  the 
ice-bound  river.  We  determined  to  approach  the 
band  quietly,  get  them  started  down  the  stream 
and  gently  urge  them  ahead  of  us  until  near  the 
next  camp,  when  we  would  kill  one. 

But  uthe  best  laid  schemes  o'  mice  and  men 
gang  aft  agley."  The  elk  preferred  to  go  in  an- 
other direction.  As  we  approached  them,  one- 
half  of  the  band  began  to>  climb  the  mountainside 
to  the  right,  while  the  others  had  huddled  together 
in  the  bottom  and  seemed  undetermined  what 
direction  to  take.  We  were  traveling  in  the  usual 
fashion.  I  was  in  the  lead,  followed  by  the  packs 
in  single  file,  while  George  and  the  camp-keeper, 
Erickson,  followed  behind,  pushing  along  the 
pack  animals,  and  seeing  that  their  loads  were 
riding  well. 

As  we  approached  the  elk,  they  became  very 
uneasy,  and  showed  no  disposition  to.  keep  quietly 
ahead  of  us,  down  to  the  next  camp.  When  we 
had  approached  still  nearer,  they  began  to  attempt 
to  pass  us  on  the  right,  close  to  the  mountain.  I 
galloped  in  that  direction  to  head  them  off,  and 

179 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

did  not  realize  that  the  packs  were  following  me. 
The  elk  doubled  back,  however,  dashed  by  me  like 
a  whirlwind,  passed  through  and  among  the  pack 
horses,  and  swept  them  along  in  the  general  stam- 
pede. It  was  so  sudden  that  at  first  we  scarcely 
realized  the  extent  of  the  misfortune.  All  we  pos- 
sessed was  in  those  packs,  and  there  was  no  telling 
what  loss  might  result  from  their  being  scattered 
about  among  the  sage  brush.  We  soon  overtook 
old  "Red,"  one  of  the  pack  horses  that  was  par- 
tially blind,  and  on  this  account  afraid  to  go  fast. 
We  felt  sure  that  Elk  Creek,  then  covered  with 
ice,  which  was  a  mile  behind  us,  would  stop  them, 
but  it  did  not  do  so,  for  they  had  crossed  the  fifty 
yards  of  smooth  ice  without  falling,  and  were  now 
standing  exhausted  only  a  short  distance  beyond. 
Herendeen  at  once  examined  the  packs,  and 
strangely  enough  found  very  few  things  missing. 
Only  two  of  the  packs  had  to  be  relashed. 

In  all  my  experience  of  life  in  the  Northwest,  I 
have  never  heard  of  a  similar  incident.  These 
horses  were  not  frightened,  but  were  just  carried 
away  by  the  excitement  caused  by  the  rush  of  the 
elks.  I  have  heard  of  horses  being  carried  along 
for  days  by  a  rushing  band  of  buffalo,  but  in  that 
case  they  probably  could  not  help  themselves. 

We  were  soon  in  good  shape,  and  made  a  good 
180 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

drive,  passing  down  almost  beyond  the  snow, 
thqugh  the  greater  part  of  the  day's  travel  was 
through  snow  sixteen  inches  deep. 

By  noon  of  the  following  day  we  reached  the 
point  of  the  mountains  just  above  the  junction  of 
the  north  and  south  forks  of  the  Stinking  River. 
Except  for  sugar,  coffee,  tea  and  dried  fruit,  we 
were  pretty  well  out  of  food.  We  had  been  told 
that  in  this  basin  there  were  two  ranches,  the  Car- 
ter Ranch  and  the  Belknap  Ranch,  and  these  two 
cattle  men  during  the  past  summer  had  each 
brought  in  about  a  thousand  head  of  cows.  I  had 
known  Captain  Belknap  well,  for  at  the  battle  of 
Murfreesboro,  or  Stone  River,  he  was  a  captain  of 
the  1 8th  U.  S.  Infantry,  and  I  had  no  doubt  that 
at  his  place  I  could  get  frour  enough  to  last  until 
we  reached  the  Crow  Agency,  near  the  Yellow- 
stone. Near  the  camp,  therefore,  we  climbed  a 
point  of  a  mountain  above  the  forks,  high  enough 
to  get  a  view  of  the  basin  before  us,  and  after 
carefully  inspecting  the  landscape  with  field  glasses, 
its  curving  smoke  showed  us  a  lone  cabin  three  or 
four  miles  distant.  We  moved  a  few  miles  in 
that  direction  and  camped  in  the  brush  on  the 
bank  of  the  south  fork.  I  went  on  to  the  lone 
cabin  and  found  there  Dr.  'Carter,  then  manager 
of  the  Carter  Cattle  Company,  whose  herd  had 

181 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

been  driven  into  the  basin  the  summer  before.  He 
was  a  very  intelligent,  companionable  and  hospit- 
able man,  who,  when  he  learned  of  the  situation, 
at  once  supplied  my  immediate  wants  in  flour  and 
fresh  meat.  In  those  days  flour  and  such  things 
must  be  brought  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three 
hundred  miles  over  two  mountain  ranges,  carried 
a  part  of  the  way  on  pack  horses,  in  quantities  suf- 
ficient for  a  year's  supply.  It  is  apparent  there- 
fore how  precious  it  became.  I  was  later  able  to 
return  the  supply  received  from  Captain  Carter 
from  flour  loaned  me  by  Captain  Belknap,  whose 
ranch  was  located  on  the  same  stream,  ten  miles 
above,  under  charge  of  John  Dyer. 

For  some  days  we  were  detained  at  this  camp 
by  a  cold  snap,  the  mercury  going  down  to  32 
degrees  below  zero,  but  on  November  22  it  had 
grown  warmer,  and  we  broke  camp  and  started 
for  our  winter  quarters  at  Bozeman.  We  crossed 
the  south  fork  on  the  ice,  passed  around  Cedar 
Mountain,  opposite  a  lower  canon  of  the  Stinking 
Water,  forded  the  stream  by  an  Indian  lodge  pole 
trail  just  below  the  canon  and  camped  on  a  small 
creek  a  few  miles  beyond.  Above  this  camp  the 
ice  on  each  fork  of  the  stream  was  at  least  a  foot 
thick.  The  canon  is  about  eight  miles  in  length 
with  a  fall  of  at  least  a  hundred  feet.  The  walls 

182 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

are  almost  vertical,  and  the  canon  cannot  be  passed 
through  by  man  except  on  foot.  On  the  trail 
crossing  below  the  canon  there  was  no  fringe  of 
ice  along  the  shore,  but  there  was  an  all-pervading 
smell  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  that  was  unmis- 
takable. 

From  this  camp  we  traveled  by  the  most  direct 
route  possible — remembering  the  bad  snowdrifts 
— on  the  usual  trail.  Fifteen  days*  steady  march- 
ing— between  November  23  and  December  12 — 
brought  us  at  last  to  Bozeman.  On  the  Rocky 
Fork  we  stopped  one  day  to  get  a  supply  of  fresh 
meat,  while  extremely  cold  weather  caused  a  delay 
of  six  days  at  the  Agency  of  the  Crow  Indians  on 
Rosebud  River.  This  cold  snap  culminated  in  the 
low  temperature  of  40  degrees  below  zero,  and 
during  its  continuance  we  laid  up  in  some  willow 
thickets,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  good 
firewood.  During  the  middle  of  the  day  the  sun 
had  a  powerful  effect  in  modifying  the  cold.  We 
were  all  provided  with  suitable  wrappings,  and 
none  of  us  suffered  materially.  At  night  our  pro- 
tection was  a  wall  tent  12  x  14  feet,  with  a  water- 
proof tarpaulin  floor  and  robes  and  blankets  suf- 
ficient. My  bed  was  a  fur-lined  sleeping  bag.  A 
well  designed  sheet-iron  stove  kept  the  tent  warm 
and  comfortable. 

183 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

At  the  point  of  one  mountain  the  road  was 
blocked  by  deep  snowdrifts,  and  we  left  it  to  pass 
over  high  benches  below,  where  at  that  time  the 
snow  was  twelve  inches  deep.  It  took  us  eight 
days  to  go  from  Crow  Agency  to  Bozeman,  and 
owing  to  the  snowdrifts  on  the  direct  trail,  we  fol- 
lowed the  Yellowstone  River  and  crossed  it  three 
times. 

At  the  date  when  these  notes  are  transcribed, 
August  25,  1908,  there  is  being  constructed  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  Stinking  Water  Canon,  by  the 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service,  the  highest  dam  in 
the  world.  It  is  307  feet  high,  and  its  purpose 
is  to  impound  the  waters  of  this  remarkable  moun- 
tain stream  for  irrigation  purposes.  The  cost  of 
this  dam,  built  of  concrete,  with  the  necessary 
ditches  and  tunnels  leading  from  it,  will  be  from 
four  to  five  millions  of  dollars.  Along  the  valley 
of  the  stream  there  has  been  constructed  by  the 
Government  the  first-class  road  with  all  bridges 
needed  for  tourists. 

Near  the  locality  where  the  elk  carried  away  our 
horses,  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  Horn  Fork,  is  an 
important  hotel  called  Wapiti,  and  just  below  the 
canon  is  the  town  of  Cody  at  the  end  of  a  branch 
road  of  the  Burlington  system  of  railroads.  Near 
the  point  of  the  mountain  where  snowdrifts 

184 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

obliged  us  to  leave  the  road,  is  the  present  coal 
mining  town  of  Red  Lodge,  a  prosperous  young 
city  of  five  thousand  inhabitants. 


185 


1881 

In  the  spring  of  1881  I  determined  to  spend  the 
summer  and  fall  of  that  year  among  the  mountains 
bordering  the  Big  Horn  Basin  on  the  west,  be- 
tween Clark's  Fork  and  the  Grey  Bull  River.  I 
wished  also  to  get  into  the  field  as  soon  as  the 
grass  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  support  the 
horses.  Though  desirous  of  retaining  the  services 
of  George  Herendeen  for  the  season,  I  was  unable 
to  do  so.  He  was  an  expert  packer,  resourceful 
and  reliable  in  every  way,  and  I  regretted  his  loss. 

However,  I  secured  two  excellent  old-timers, 
each  an  expert  packer,  wholly  reliable  and  full  of 
resource.  These  were  T.  Elwood  Hofer,  as  packer 
and  horse  wrangler,  and  Le  Grand  Corey,  as  camp- 
keeper.  Hofer  was  of  Swiss  ancestry,  educated 
and  reliable,  and  was  destined  in  after  years  to 
make  an  honorable  record  in  the  service  of  the 
Government.  Corey  was  remarkable  for  his  skill 
with  tools  and  his  readiness  of  resource  in  all  the 
emergencies  of  mountain  life.  During  this  trip 
the  stock  of  my  rifle  was  broken  short  off  at  the 

186 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

pistol  grip,  and  with  a  few  pieces  of  brass,  He  re- 
paired the  old  stock  sufficiently  for  use,  and  within 
a  few  days,  from  a  pine  stump  and  with  a  few  camp 
tools,  had  made  and  fitted  on  a  stock  which  I  used 
for  the  remainder  of  the  season. 

Besides  these,  I  had  two  other  camp  compan- 
ions, Nip,  my  constant  associate  during  the  season 
of  1880,  and  Tuck,  a  half -grown  pup  of  nonde- 
script breed,  which,  under  Nip's  tutelage,  I  hoped 
would  become  useful.  Nip  had  been  given  me  by 
Jack  Smith,  of  Bozeman,  and  was  a  cross  between 
a  Scotch  terrier  and  a  collie.  He  had  been  reared 
by  a  man  who  had  hunted  bears  and  had  already 
learned  much  about  their  habits.  He  was  not 
afraid  of  any  grizzly  that  wore  hair,  but  knew 
enough  of  their  habits,  and  had  sufficient  activity, 
to  keep  out  of  the  reach  of  their  teeth  and  claws. 

We  crossed  the  Yellowstone  May  5,  swimming 
the  horses  at  Benson's  Landing,  and  crossing  the 
baggage  and  men  on  a  ferry.  We  went  up  to  the 
edge  of  the  mountains  on  Mission  Creek,  and  soon 
after  crossing,  Hofer  killed  an  elk  for  meat.  In 
place  of  his  own  rifle,  Hofer  was  carrying  one  of 
mine — a  .40-90  Sharps  business  rifle.  I  had  fur- 
nished 225-grain  hollow-pointed  ball.  The  car- 
tridges were  loaded  with  100  grains  C.  &  H. 
powder.  At  short  range  the  effect  of  this  bullet 

187 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

was  apparently  as  killing  as  my  .45-caliber.  The 
elk  was  killed  with  one  shot  in  the  lungs,  the  base 
of  the  bullet  lodging  against  the  ribs  of  the  side 
opposite  to  where  it  entered. 

From  that  time  until  June  15,  I  hunted  along 
the  foothills  of  the  mountains  bordering  the  Yel- 
lowstone Valley  on  the  south  as  far  east  as  Clark's 
Fork  of  the  Yellowstone,  a  distance  of  about 
seventy-five  miles.  Though  we  did  not  find  many 
bears,  we  had  a  very  pleasant  time,  and  greatly 
enjoyed  the  freedom  from  the  confinement  of 
winter  quarters  in  a  Montana  climate. 

The  weather  was  pleasant,  considering  that  it 
was  spring.  Enough  deer  were  found  to  supply  us 
with  fresh  meat,  and  a  few  days  after  crossing  the 
river  a  grizzly  was  killed,  from  which  was  ren- 
dered sufficient  fat  to  furnish  us  with  lard  for 
some  time.  Lard  rendered  from  bear  fat  is  much 
superior  to  that  from  hog  fat,  being  whiter  and 
more  digestible. 

From  the  Yellowstone  to  Clark's  Fork  the  route 
lay  through  the  reservation  of  the  Crow  Indians 
At  that  time  no  white  man  was  allowed  on  the 
Indian  reservation  without  the  consent  of  the 
agent.  Though  little  heed  was  paid  to  this  law, 
yet  in  passing  through  the  reservations  I  always 
asked  permission  of  the  agent,  believing  this  cour- 

188 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

tesy  due  him.  Though  sometimes  visited  by  In- 
dians, I  was  never  troubled  by  them.  When  in 
the  camp  at  meal  time,  they  were  fed,  but  at  no 
time  were  their  visits  annoying.  In  fact,  they 
always  treated  me  with  respect,  partly,  perhaps, 
on  account  of  my  reputation  as  a  bear  hunter.  A 
singular  superstition  prevails  among  the  Indians 
in  regard  to  bear.64  Knowing  that  the  skin  of  this 
animal  is  difficult  to  render  soft  and  pliable,  and 
that  the  Indians  were  skillful  in  dressing  all  kinds 
of  skins,  I  made  an  effort  to  have  some  bear  hides 
tanned  by  these  Indians.  I  then  learned  that  they 
could  not  be  induced  to  touch  the  skins,  nor  would 
they  eat  the  flesh. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  just  before  the  noon 
meal,  a  small  party  of  Crow  Indians  appeared  at 
camp.  One  of  them  was  the  son  of  a  Crow  named 
Little  Face,  whom  I  had  several  times  met.  Hofer 
and  Corey,  who  could  talk  good  Crow  and  make  a 
few  signs,  learned  that  the  son  of  Little  Face  had 
just  married,  and  was  now  on  his  bridal  trip.  It 
was  therefore  decided  to  give  the  party  a  meal  of 
fat  elk,  dried  fruit  and  whatever  luxuries  the  camp 
afforded.  Since  in  mountain  life  there  are  no 
rooms  to  which  guests  may  be  invited,  and  the  only 
living  room  is  around  the  camp-fire  under  the 
broad  canopy  of  heaven,  all  gathered  there  and 

189 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

watched  the  cook  beginning  the  operations  of  the 
meal.  As  time  passed,  the  Indians  talked  pleas- 
antly among  themselves.  They  were  evidently 
hungry  and  were  gratified  at  the  prospect  of  break- 
ing their  fast.  The  various  cooking  operations 
went  on,  the  bread  was  baked  and  the  fruit  stewed, 
and  finally  came  the  frying  of  the  meat,  which 
would  thus  be  steaming  hot  when  served. 

Corey  filled  the  frying-pan  with  thick  slices  of 
elk  and  an  abundance  of  bear  lard,  and  from  over 
the  fire  an  aroma  grateful  to  a  hungry  man  began 
to  rise.  This  odor  soon  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  Indians,  whose  countenances,  after  some  little 
talk,  seemed  to  express  despair,  a  combination  of 
grief  at  the  loss  of  their  dinner  and  of  dread  of 
some  impending  evil.  As  they  talked  they  became 
more  and  more  excited,  until  at  last  they  arose  as 
if  to  go  away,  and  of  this  an  explanation  was 
asked.  With  some  difficulty  and  the  help  of  many 
signs,  we  were  given  to  understand  that  the  cause 
of  this  change  of  feeling  was  the  smell  of  the  bear 
lard.  They  could  not — dared  not — eat  anything 
cooked  in  bear's  grease,  and  were  about  to  go 
away.  They  had  detected  the  dreaded  odor  at 
once.  We  explained  to  them  that  we  knew  nothing 
of  their  belief,  and  if  they  would  wait  for  a  little 
time,  meat  would  be  cooked  for  them  uncontam- 

190 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

inated.  As  they  were  hungry,  they  readily  con- 
sented to  wait.  Corey  then  made  for  them  a  "dry 
fry,"  and  they  fell  to  and  seemed  greatly  to  enjoy 
their  meal.  The  bridegroom  and  his  friends 
seemed  grateful  that  their  feelings  had  been  re- 
spected, and  that  they  had  not  lost  their  anticipated 
feast.  That  a  hungry  Indian  should  refuse  to  par- 
take of  an  attractive  feast  merely  because  a  certain 
ingredient  is  used  in  its  preparation,  shows  that 
some  deep-seated  religious  or  superstitious  belief 
controls  him. 

Major  Pease,  of  Bozeman,  Montana,  was  long 
the  Indian  agent  of  the  Crow  Indians.  He  once 
stated  to  me,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry,  that  from 
all  he  could  learn  there  was  an  old  well-defined 
tradition  of  the  Crows  that  they  were  descended 
from  the  grizzly  bear,  hence  the  superstition. 

On  June  15  we  had  come  to  within  a  few  miles 
of  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  camped 
on  a  fine  trout  stream  called  Moose  Creek.65  It 
was  necessary  to  raft  our  property  across  this 
stream,  which  was  high  from  the  melting  snows  of 
the  mountains,  and  a  raft  was  constructed  in  a 
situation  suitable  for  poling  it  into  the  current  and 
drifting  with  it  to  a  suitable  landing  point  on  the 
opposite  shore.  I  shall  describe  the  building  of  the 
raft  and  the  manner  of  drifting  it  to  the  opposite 

191 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

shore  in  the  diary  of  1882.  When  the  raft  was 
ready,  the  baggage  was  carried  from  camp  and 
thrown  on  the  ground  before  being  loaded  and 
lashed  down  on  the  raft.  Just  then  on  our  trail 
and  behind  us  appeared  a  party  of  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  mounted  men,  and  as  they  approached,  they 
were  seen  to  be  Indians — men  and  women.  One 
of  the  principal  men,  conspicuous  by  the  size  of  his 
headdress,  appeared,  on  nearer  approach,  to  be  a 
black  man,  a  full-blooded  African.  It  was  a  party 
of  Crows  on  the  way  to  visit  the  Shoshoni  Indians 
at  Fort  Washaki  Agency.  The  black  man,  as  we 
afterward  learned,  was  a  Missouri  negro,  adopted 
into  the  Crow  nation.  He  had  a  wife  and  a  skin 
lodge,  and  his  dress  was  that  of  an  Indian.  As  the 
party  reached  us,  Smoky,  for  so*  he  was  called, 
came  straight  up  to  where  I  was  standing,  and 
with  the  utmost  assurance  said,  "Boss,  give  me  a 
chew  of  tobacco."  Smoky's  manner  and  words 
recalled  happy  years,  both  as  child  and  adult,  of 
long  association  with  that  kindly  race.  If  I  had 
possessed  a  hogshead  of  tobacco  it  would  have  been 
freely  dumped  at  his  feet,  but  as  I  was  not  a  user 
of  the  weed,  his  appeal  was  in  vain. 

I  was  recalled  to  the  present  by  a  glance  at  the 
angry  stream.  To  the  chief  of  the  party  I  pointed 
out  the  raft  we  had  fashioned,  and  offered  it  for 

192 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  use  of  his  people  after  we  had  crossed.  He 
looked  at  it  with  some  attention,  and  then,  as  an 
expression  of  contempt  spread  over  his  face,  he 
uttered  the  words  "no  good."  He  then  sent  off 
some  young  men  to  try  a  ford  at  the  mouth  of  Pat 
O'Hara  Creek,  a  few  miles  below,  and  thinking 
it  worth  while  to  take  advantage  of  the  Indian's 
experimenting,  we  awaited  the  return  of  the  party. 
When  they  came  back,  Smoky,  who  was  with  them, 
reported  a  good  ford  half-side  deep  to  his  pony. 
The  Indians  at  once  set  out  for  the  crossing.  We 
packed  up  and  followed  them. 

When  we  had  come  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
place  the  sight  was  not  reassuring.  The  river  at 
the  ford  seemed  full  of  men  and  women,  pack 
animals  and  loose  horses  all  mixed  up.  Men  and 
women  swimming  and  yelling,  and  some  of  the 
horses  swimming. 

The  Indians  got  across  with  their  packs,  but  only 
after  a  wetting.  When  we  reached  the  bank  over- 
looking the  crossing,  some  of  the  women  were 
spreading  the  contents  out  on  the  grass  and  wil- 
lows to  dry.  This  showed  us  very  plainly  that  we 
could  not  attempt  to  cross  with  the  packs  on  the 
animals.  Smoky,  Hairy  Moccasin  and  Little  Face 
were  preparing  to  take  the  loose  horses  across.  A 
woman  mounted  on  one  pony  was  leading  a  mare 

193 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

with  colt  following,  and  when  all  was  ready,  she 
started  into  the  water,  the  other  horses  following, 
being  pushed  on  and  urged  by  the  Indians.  Just 
before  reaching  the  opposite  bank,  some  of  the 
mares  turned  back  for  their  colts  that  were  nick- 
ering. At  once  they  began  to  mill,  turning  around 
and  around  and  being  carried  down  into  deep 
water.  The  only  thing  to  do  was  to  get  back  again 
on  the  same  side  to  make  another  trip.  They 
did  this  three  or  four  times,  but  finally  gave  it  up, 
not  crossing  the  horses  until  the  next  morning  when 
the  river  was  lower.  The  horses  that  the  Indians 
were  riding  had  their  forelocks  tied  up  with  a  bit 
of  grass  to  keep  the  hair  out  of  their  eyes,  so  as  not 
to  interfere  with  their  vision  while  in  the  water. 

Before  returning  to  our  raft,  we  sought  for  a 
more  suitable  place  for  starting  into  the  water  than 
the  one  we  had  stopped  at.  The  men  soon  re- 
turned, reporting  a  better  point  down  below.  The 
pack  horses  were  carefully  unloaded  at  the  point 
we  were  to  start  from,  the  raft  was  launched,  with 
Hofer  and  Corey  on  it,  and  I  went  to  a  point 
below,  where  I  could  catch  a  rope  thrown  to  me. 
A  safe  landing  was  made,  and  before  dark  all  our 
belongings  had  been  ferried  over  and  we  were  in 
a  snug  camp.  The  horses  had  been  driven  into 
the  water  and  forced  to  swim  across. 

194 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

From  this  day,  June  22,  to  August  19,  we  were 
camped  on  and  about  Sheep  Mountain,  the  eastern- 
most spur  reaching  out  to  the  plains  of  the  Sho- 
shoni  group  of  mountains.  The  easternmost  peak 
of  this  end  is  Heart  Mountain,  said  to  have  re- 
ceived its  name  from  the  resemblance  of  this  peak 
to  a  heart.  It  is  the  dividing  mountain  between 
the  waters  of  Clark's  Fork  on  the  north  and  Stink- 
ing River  on  the  south. 

On  these  mountains  we  had  three  different 
camps,  the  highest  being  at  an  elevation  of  about 
8,200  feet.  On  the  mountains  there  was  a  large 
band  of  cow  elk  with  their  young  and  enough 
young  bulls  and  mountain  sheep  to  give  us  camp 
meat. 

Cow  elk  have  a  peculiar  way  of  calling  their 
young.  The  sound  is  made  with  the  lips,  and  can 
be  heard  for  some  distance.66  In  the  summer 
season  the  cows  keep  close  together  for  protection, 
and  the  young  bulls,  then  a  year  old  the  previous 
May  or  June,  herd  with  the  cows.  The  black-tail 
deer  had  gone  further  back  into  the  mountains. 

Bears  were  fairly  abundant,  but  I  secured  only 
two,  and  without  adventure.  Nevertheless,  the 
experience  with  one  of  them  is  worth  relating. 
In  a  small  prairie  nearby  there  was  the  carcass  of 
an  elk,  which  a  grizzly  soon  began  to  visit.  I 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

watched  it  for  several  evenings,  but  the  bear  failed 
to  put  in  an  appearance  before  dark;  nevertheless, 
each  night  the  carcass  was  dragged  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  open  timber.  When  it  had  been 
dragged  far  enough  into  the  timber  for  my  pur- 
pose, it  was  tied  by  a  hindleg  to  the  limb  of  a  tree, 
the  elk  being  raised  high  enough  to  keep  the  bear 
from  cutting  the  rope.  That  night  a  bear,  believ- 
ing that  in  the  timber  he  would  be  safe,  came  to 
feed  before  dark.  In  the  morning  a  seat  had  been 
arranged  on  the  limb  of  a  nearby  pine,  and  as  the 
bear  approached,  I  easily  killed  him  with  a  single 
shot.  After  skinning  the  bear  next  morning,  we 
took  the  precaution  to  tie  the  bear  carcass  by  the 
hindleg  to  the  same  picket  rope,  and  as  we  thought, 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  next  bear.  That  evening 
I  took  my  position  on  the  perch,  watching  in  the 
direction  of  the  bear's  expected  approach.  It  so 
happened  that  I  was  not  sufficiently  hid  from  sight 
by  the  foliage  of  the  pine  tree.  At  the  expected 
time  the  bear  appeared.  I  got  a  glimpse  of  him 
as  he  cautiously  approached  through  the  open 
timber.  He  had  perhaps  come  within  sixty  yards 
when  he  stopped,  stood  on  his  hindlegs  with  his 
head  concealed  by  a  pine  bough,  peeping  over  it 
toward  the  bait.  I  could  see  only  a  part  of  him, 
and  there  was  little  chance  to  make  a  sure  shot; 

196 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

moreover,  I  expected  that  he  would  come  closer. 
Suddenly  he  dropped  on  all  fours,  gave  a  snort, 
turned  and  moved  rapidly  back  on  his  trail  and 
disappeared  in  the  pine  thicket. 

An  inspection  next  morning  showed  that,  as 
anticipated,  the  bear  had  returned,  had  stood  up 
by  the  carcass  of  the  other  bear,  and  instead  of 
cutting  the  rope,  had  cut  through  the  bear's  ham- 
string, by  which  it  had  been  tied,  thus  freeing  the 
carcass,  and  had  dragged  it  about  a  hundred  yards 
further  into  the  timber.  There  he  took  a  meal 
and  then  covered  up  the  carcass,  as,  if  the  soil  is 
not  too  rocky,  bears  always  do. 

It  was  now  my  business  to  circumvent  this  bear. 
I  at  once  arranged  a  place  on  a  limb  of  the  nearest 
pine,  talking  care,  however,  that  the  foliage  should 
protect  me  from  view  from  the  trail  by  which  the 
bear  was  expected.  That  evening  I  was  on  hand, 
securely  hidden  on  my  new  perch.  The  bear  ap- 
peared before  dark,  approaching  very  cautiously 
and  in  my  full  view.  When  within  seventy-five 
yards  he  stopped,  sat  up  and  gazed  long  and 
earnestly,  but  his  attention  seemed  to  be  directed 
to  the  position  that  I  had  occupied  in  the  tree  the 
evening  before.  As  he  stood  in  full  view  he 
seemed  the  embodiment  of  savage  fury,  and  was 
evidently  spoiling  for  a  scrimmage.  Looking 

197 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

savagely  toward  where  I  had  been  the  night  be- 
fore, he  gave  his  mane  and  ears  a  savage  flap.  It 
could  have  been  heard  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
off,  the  sound  being  like,  but  much  louder  than, 
the  sound  made  by  an  old  bear  when  he  shakes  his 
head  after  being  worried  by  dogs.  The  bear  did 
not  appear  to  think  of  looking  anywhere  except 
where  he  had  seen  me  before. 

In  the  meantime  I  was  cautiously  getting  ready 
for  a  shot.  The  distance  was  too  great  for  me  to 
risk  a  shot  at  the  brain.  Watching  my  chance,  as 
he  turned  his  head  slightly  to  the  left,  I  fired  at  a 
point  between  the  shoulder  blade  and  the  neck, 
hoping  possibly  to  smash  the  neckbone.  If  I  did 
not  do  that,  I  hoped  that  the  splash  of  the  frag- 
ments of  the  express  ball  would  cut  the  main 
artery  in  the  neck.  At  the  crack  of  the  rifle  he 
rolled  over  as  a  bear  usually  does  on  being  hit,  but 
without  giving  the  peculiar  bawl  so*  often  heard, 
and  which  I  think  indicates  that  he  is  whipped. 
The  bear  was  on  his  feet  at  once  and  moved  back 
on  the  trail  as  rapidly  as  he  could.  I  descended 
from  my  perch  and  followed  him  into  the  timber, 
believing  from  his  clumsy  movements  as  he 
scrambled  off  and  the  sign  of  blood  left  in  his 
tracks,  that  I  should  soon  find  him  in  the  last 
agonies.  In  the  pine  thicket  it  was  quite  dusk,  and 

198 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

from  the  savage  way  in  which  the  bear  had  acted, 
I  felt  that  it  would  be  dangerous  business  to  jump 
him  in  the  undergrowth.  He  soon  entered  some 
pretty  thick  pine  brush,  where  I  thought  he  would 
lie  down.  I  followed  him  for  a  few  hundred  feet 
very  cautiously.  He  knew  he  was  being  followed 
or  else  had  more  vitality  than  the  nature  of  the 
wound  indicated.  It  was  now  getting  dark  in  the 
underbrush  and  I  was  alone.  I  decided  to  give 
him  up  and  to  return  early  the  next  morning  and 
follow  up  his  trail. 

Corey  and  I  were  on  hand  early.  Corey  was  an 
experienced  and  painstaking  trailer,  and  I  had 
every  confidence  in  him.  He  was  in  the  lead,  to 
enable  him  to  follow  the  trail,  and  I  was  so  close 
behind  him  that  the  muzzle  of  my  rifle  was  often 
ahead  of  him.  In  the  blood,  and  in  the  actions  of 
the  bear  there  was  every  evidence  that  he  was 
badly  wounded.  He  seemed  to  be  bleeding  inter- 
nally. At  every  pine  thicket  we  expected  to  stum- 
ble on  him.  We  followed  for  a  mile  down  a  slop- 
ing ledge,  and  just  in  front  of  us  a  bear  started  up 
and  made  off.  We  did  not  get  a  glimpse  of  him. 
Corey  followed  him  for  a  short  distance,  when, 
his  trail  going  down  an  abrupt  mountain,  it  was 
abandoned.  Corey  at  once  contended  that  this 
was  another  bear,  and  said  that  we  must  have 

199 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

passed  the  wounded  bear  in  some  thicket.  It  is 
certainly  true  that,  after  passing  the  place  where 
the  bear  had  spent  the  night,  the  signs  of  blood 
began  to  disappear.  At  any  rate,  we  did  not  find 
the  wounded  bear,  and  returned  to  camp  after 
having  spent  half  a  day  in  a  fruitless  search. 

Four  years  after  this  incident,  in  July,  1885,  I 
killed  on  the  head  of  one  of  the  forks  of  Four 
Bear  Creek  a  large  grizzly  that  in  size,  form  and 
ferocity  was  the  counterpart  of  the  bear  which 
Corey  and  I  had  followed.  I  was  alone.  At  the 
first  shot  the  bear  rushed  at  me,  crossed  a  deep 
ravine  and  was  within  a  few  jumps,  when  a  second 
shot  shattered  the  socket  joint  of  his  right  shoulder 
so  that  he  turned  to  his  left  and  disappeared  under 
a  bluff.  I  followed  rapidly,  and  as  he  turned  and 
charged  me,  I  gave  him  a  final  shot,  which  crushed 
the  neck  bone. 

On  skinning  that  bear  two  bullets  of  200  grains 
weight,  as  if  shot  from  a  Winchester  .44  caliber, 
were  found  buried  in  the  fleshy  part  of  its  shoulder 
and  neck,  and  besides  these  were  found  the  frag- 
ments of  a  .45  caliber  bullet,  exactly  similar  to  the 
express  bullets  that  I  used  in  1881.  This  ball  lay 
in  the  muscles  of  the  neck  and  shoulder.  The  two 
localities  are  only  about  seventy  miles  apart,  a  dis- 
tance not  outside  the  range  of  the  grizzly  bear.  I 

200 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

have  often  thought  that  this  might  have  been  the 
same  bear.  The  bear  of  1885  indicated  from  his 
actions  that  he  had  been  in  several  fights  with  man, 
and  he  did  not  hesitate  as  to  what  he  should  do. 

Up  to  this  time  my  dog  had  been  of  very  little 
use.  Often  he  would  break  before  the  shot  was 
fired,  and  I  tried  to  correct  this  by  thrashing  him, 
but  perhaps  the  next  time  after  breaking  he  would 
not  return  and  would  remain  hidden  for  a  week. 
The  bad  example  that  he  set  to  the  pup  Tuck  was 
such  that  he  was  soon  spoiled  and  good  for  noth- 
ing. At  one  camp  they  were  both  in  disgrace,  and 
during  several  nights  when  they  stayed  out  in  the 
hills,  the  mountains  rang  with  their  yelps  as  they 
chased  foxes  and  such  game.  Had  Nip  been  with 
me  when  the  bear  of  1881  was  wounded  he  would 
have  followed  him  and  brought  him  to  bay  by 
nipping  at  his  heels.  With  the  assistance  of  the 
dog  I  could  have  had  a  good  shot  that  would  have 
stopped  the  bear. 

On  one  occasion,  when  the  dog  was  away  from 
the  camp,  it  was  necessary  for  Hofer  and  Corey 
to  go  with  the  pack  train  for  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions sufficient  to  last  for  the  next  three  months. 
These  supplies  were  to  have  been  delivered  at  the 
Crow  Agency  by  bull  team  from  Bozeman.  They 
left  on  the  5th  of  August,  and  returned  nine  days 

201 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

later,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  I4th.  I  had  retained 
my  mare  Kate,  but  beside  her  I  was  the  only  living 
thing  in  camp.  I  got  along  very  well,  however, 
reading  and  writing  or  hunting.  Usually  in  the 
afternoon  I  took  a  ride  up  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  to  the  south  to  watch  the  country  for 
bear;  usually  without  glasses.  But  one  evening 
later,  as  I  watched  the  southern  slope  of  the  moun- 
tain, a  rifle  shot  was  heard  and  an  elk  rushed  out 
from  a  strip  of  timber.  I  was  not  at  the  moment 
anxious  to  meet  either  good  Indian  or  bad  white 
man,  and  did  not  try  to  find  out  who  had  fired  the 
shot.  During  all  my  sojourn,  time  never  hung 
heavy  on  my  hands. 

After  the  boys  returned,  we  went  down  from 
these  mountains,  intending  to  cross  the  two  forks  of 
Stinking  River  and  then  to>  follow  around  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  toward  Grey  Bull  country.  We 
followed  down  the  mountain  by  the  trail  along 
Rattle  Snake  Creek,  and  on  August  22  camped  on 
Carter's  Creek,  about  two  miles  above  the  Carter 
Ranch.  Here  Captain  Belknap  visited  me.  He 
had  just  brought  into  this  basin  a  thousand  cows 
and  located  a  ranch  on  the  south  fork.  About  the 
same  time,  Colonel  Carter,  from  Fort  Bridger, 
brought  in  about  the  same  number  of  cattle  under 
the  management  of  his  relative,  Dr.  Carter. 

202 


KIRGHIZ  FALCONERS. 
(See   page  314.) 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

At  this  time  the  only  other  cattleman  located  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Big  Horn  Basin  was  Otto 
Franc.  He  had  settled  on  Grey  Bull  River,  six 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  Wood  River.  He  drove 
into  the  basin  in  1879  several  thousand  head  of 
cattle  from  the  Madison  Valley,  Montana,  going 
by  a  roundabout  way  through  the  South  Pass  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

From  August  25  to  October  30  we  were  about 
the  foothills  of  the  mountains  on  the  west  as  far 
as  the  point  where  Grey  Bull  River  comes  out  on 
to  the  plains  through  its  last  canon,  near  the  mouth 
of  Buffalo  Fork.  Our  principal  camps  were  at  the 
forks  of  the  Meeteetse  Creek,  and  on  the  Buffalo 
Fork,  near  the  point  where  it  unites  with  the  Grey 
Bull  River.  On  Rock  Creek  there  were  other 
camps  where  we  remained  for  shorter  periods. 
These  two  months  were,  on  the  whole,  the  pleas- 
antest,  and  from  the  sportsman's  standpoint,  the 
most  successful  of  all  the  years  spent  among  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  true,  the  grand  scenery 
of  the  two  previous  seasons  was  wanting,  nor  was 
there  the  daily  feeling  of  interest  caused  by  behold- 
ing strange  and  wonderful  sights,  but  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  this  grand  scenery  and  these  wonders 
of  the  Yellowstone  had  begun  to  pall  on  me.  They 
no  longer  aroused  the  emotions  of  pleasure  and 

203 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

wonder  that  they  did  when  first  witnessed.  The 
scenes  of  this  season  were  different  in  character. 
There  were  views  from  mountain  peaks  over  the 
vast  plains  to  the  east,  where  the  Yellowstone  was 
bounded  by  peaks  of  the  Big  Horn  Range,  one  of 
which  has  been  said  to  be  12,000  feet  in  height. 
The  weather  was  very  pleasant.  There  were  no 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  such  as  we  had  faced 
the  autumn  before  when  on  our  return  we  endured 
for  almost  a  month  a  temperature  of  from  25  to 
40  degrees  below  zero.  The  first  touch  of  winter 
came  September  4,  when  there  were  two  days  of 
snowstorm,  leaving  six  inches  of  snow  on  the 
ground. 

During  these  two  months  from  the  camp  on  the 
head  of  Meeteetse  Creek  and  the  camp  on  the  Grey 
Bull  and  from  intermediate  camps  I  killed  nineteen 
grizzlies,  the  majority  of  them  large,  with  well 
furred  robes.  Four  grizzlies  had  been  killed  be- 
fore this,  but  in  two  cases  the  robes  were  not  good 
and  were  not  saved.  Twenty-one  hides  were  taken 
into  winter  quarters  at  Bozeman. 

By  careful  observation  of  the  habits  of  this  bear 
I  had  become  skillful  in  approaching  near  enough 
without  alarming  the  animal,  to  deliver  a  deliber- 
ate shot  in  a  fatal  part.  Of  the  twenty-three  bears 
killed  during  the  season,  seventeen  required  only  a 

204 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

single  shot.  None  of  these  bears  gave  any  trouble. 
As  a  rule,  the  first  shot  was  fatal  after  a  little  time, 
yet  even  though  mortally  wounded,  some  of  them 
might  have  made  good  fights  had  they  seen  by 
whom  the  shot  was  delivered,  but  shot  at  from 
ambush,  their  first  move  was  to  get  out  of  danger 
and  to  run  in  the  direction  toward  which  they 
happened  to  be  headed.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
have  never  known  of  an  instance  where,  if  a  bear 
saw  from  whence  the  bullet  came,  it  did  not  start 
directly  toward  the  person  firing  the  shot.  In  such 
event  the  safest  course  is  to  face  the  bear,  deliver 
shots  as  fast  as  possible,  and  as  a  last  resort  use 
the  rifle  as  a  club,  and  endeavor  to  strike  a  blow 
on  the  top  of  the  head  just  over  the  brain.  In 
cases  where  I  have  been  charged,  I  have  always 
succeeded  in  stopping  the  bears  when  within  a  few 
jumps  of  me,  and  have  never  been  within  reach  of 
their  claws.  I  determined  early  in  my  experience 
that  to  run  away  from  an  angry  bear  was  useless. 
One  of  these  bears,  when  badly  wounded,  was  fol- 
lowed a  short  distance  into  the  brush,  and  when 
she  turned,  was  given  another  shot.  Another 
bear,  badly  wounded,  was  followed  into  the  timber 
by  my  dog,  which  brought  him  to  bay.  Following 
the  dog's  bark,  I  found  the  bear  in  the  last 


agony.67 


205 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

After  spending  a  few  days  at  Captain  Belknap's 
Ranch,  I  set  out  for  my  winter  quarters  at  Boze- 
man,  Montana,  following  around  the  foothills  of 
the  mountains.  This  had  been  a  red-letter  year 
as  regards  sport,  with  the  most  formidable  savage 
beast  of  the  Continent,  the  grizzly  bear.  I  was 
anxious,  however,  to  avoid  the  disagreeable  inci- 
dents of  the  last  two  seasons  while  traveling  to 
winter  quarters.  This  year,  therefore,  we  started 
for  Bozeman  about  November  i,  crossing  the 
Stinking  Water  on  the  lodge  pole  trail,  just  below 
the  lower  canon.  Thence  we  went  by  Crow  Agency 
and  Benson's  Landing,  reaching  Bozeman  De- 
cember 3,  1 88 1.  The  weather  was  pleasant,  the 
direct  route  had  not  yet  been  obstructed  by  snow, 
and  the  journey  was  unmarked  by  any  special 
incident 


206 


1882 

The  winter  of  1881-2  was  pleasantly  spent  at 
Bozeman.  At  that  prosperous  mountain  town 
there  were  three  churches  and  a  fine  population  of 
intelligent,  broad-minded  people,  among  whom  I 
had  many  friends  and  congenial  associates. 

For  the  following  summer  I  had  determined  to 
make  a  trip  into  northern  Wyoming  on  the  head 
of  Grey  Bull  River,  a  country  which  during  the 
season  of  1881  I  had  found  wholly  free  from  the 
contaminating  influences  of  the  white  man.  I  had 
with  me  Le  Grand  Corey  as  packer,  and  Heyford 
as  camp-keeper  and  cook.  Corey  had  been  with 
me  the  year  before  with  T.  E.  Hofer,  a  first-class 
man  in  every  respect  for  the  mountains  or  the 
plains,  whom  I  could  not  secure  for  this  trip. 

After  crossing  the  Bridger  Mountains,  just  east 
of  Fort  Ellis,  we  went  on  to  the  Yellowstone  River, 
crossing  it  at  Benson's  Landing.  From  there  the 
route  lay  across  the  foothills  of  the  mountains, 
following  the  Yellowstone  River  to  the  crossing 
of  Clark's  Fork,  thence  to  the  Stinking  Water,  and 

207 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

across  that  stream  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Grey 
Bull.  We  reached  Benson's  Landing  about  May 
20,  1882,  and  the  crossing  of  Clark's  Fork  about 
June  15.  At  different  points  we  stopped  for  fresh 
meat  and  for  bears,  but  killed  only  one  or  two  of 
the  latter,  and  met  with  no  special  adventures. 
Clark's  Fork  was  booming  from  the  melting  snow, 
and  there  seemed  no  prospect  of  fording  it  for  a 
month.  The  only  way  to  cross  was  by  raft. 

With  this  in  mind,  a  still  place  was  found  just 
behind  a  little  island,  where  the  raft  was  to  be 
built.  Just  below  the  island  the  current  hugged 
the  shore  on  which  we  then  were.  By  using  poles 
for  a  short  distance,  the  raft  could  easily  be  pushed 
into  the  current.  A  little  below  this,  the  main 
current  crossed  the  stream  to  the  other  side,  and 
about  150  yards  further  down,  the  current  hugged 
that  bank  so  closely  that  a  man  might  scramble  to 
shore  with  a  rope  and  hold  the  raft  until  it  could 
be  secured.  All  these  matters  had  to  be  foreseen 
and  considered  before  constructing  the  raft.  The 
weight  of  the  outfit  to  be  floated  was  fully  1,200 
pounds,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  find  the 
required  dead  logs  up  the  river,  to  snake  them  to 
the  water  by  the  saddle  horn  and  float  them  down 
to  the  place  where  the  raft  was  to  be  built.  The 
logs  must  then  be  lashed  together  with  picket  ropes, 

208 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

a  platform  arranged  on  top  to  store  the  bulky 
baggage,  and  finally  the  things  secured  so  that  no 
accident  would  tend  to  loosen  or  throw  them  over- 
board. The  whole  work  occupied  four  or  five 
days'  time.  When  everything  was  ready,  an  early 
start  was  made,  the  baggage  was  carried  to  the 
raft  and  securely  lashed  on  it.  Its  flotation  seemed 
sufficient. 

The  next  move  was  to  get  the  horses  across 
ahead  of  us.  They  seemed  to  know  what  was 
expected  of  them,  for  they  took  readily  to  the  ice 
cold  water  and  swam  across.  We  were  now  obliged 
to  cross  over  or  else  lose  our  horses.  The  raft  was 
pulled  into  the  current,  which  swiftly  carried  it 
downstream  and  across.  Our  forecast  was  real- 
ized, someone  jumped  ashore  at  the  critical  time 
and  the  raft  was  securely  fastened.  For  a  short 
time  there  seemed  a  little  danger  that  the  raft 
might  pull  away,  but  its  resistance  was  overcome, 
and  presently  it  was  securely  tied  up,  and  we  had 
the  satisfaction  of  once  more  being  on  terra  firma, 
with  all  our  belongings  safe. 

The  Stinking  River,  which  was  the  next  large 
stream,  was  wider  and  carried  a  greater  volume  of 
water  than  Clark's  Fork,  and  I  was  unwilling  to 
attempt  to  raft  across  it.  We  therefore  remained 
longer  on  the  mountains  just  north  of  that  stream 

209 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

than  originally  intended,  so  as  to  allow  the  water 
to  flow  off  and  the  stream  to  become  fordable.  I 
killed  one  or  two  bears  in  these  mountains  and  the 
elk  furnished  an  abundance  of  meat. 

We  crossed  the  Stinking  Water  on  July  12,  and 
camped  for  some  time  near  its  forks,  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  mail  expected  from  Fort  Washakie. 

At  this  camp  I  found  a  spring  flowing  with 
water  very  similar  in  taste  to  the  famous  Saratoga 
water.  It  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  just 
above  the  entrance  to  the  lower  canon  of  the 
stream.  In  the  sand  a  hole  was  scooped  out,  a 
foot  and  a  half  deep  and  about  six  long,  which 
soon  filled  with  this  water — slightly  milky  in  color. 
Bubbles  of  air  came  up  through  the  spring  and 
also  through  the  water  of  the  river  along  its  shal- 
low edges.  The  water  was  delightful  in  taste  and 
very  pleasant  to  drink.  In  later  years  when  I 
visited  this  locality,  the  spring  had  been  filled  up 
by  sand  during  the  overflowing  of  the  river,  and 
no  trace  of  it  was  found. 

From  the  loth  to  the  29th  of  August  we  were 
on  the  head  of  Meeteetse  Creek,  whence  we  crossed 
over  to  upper  Wood  River,  and  from  there  as- 
cended the  high  plateau  opposite  the  camp  occu- 
pied for  several  weeks  in  the  season  of  1 8  8 1 ,  where 
I  was  successful  in  securing  bears.  We  crossed 

210 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Franc's  Creek  and  ascended  the  mountainside,  the 
slope  being  gradual  until  we  had  come  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  rim-rock.  From  that  point 
the  ascent  was  up  along  an  elk  trail  full  of  boulders 
to  the  top  of  the  rim-rock,  where  the  country 
opened  out  into  rolling  open  mountain  benches  that 
could  be  traversed  on  horseback.  The  rim-rock, 
seen  about  many  of  these  mountains,  was  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  feet  in  vertical  face  and  at  an 
elevation  of  about  8,500  feet  above  tide.  It  could 
be  surmounted  by  horses  only  at  a,  few  points,  this 
elk  trail  being  one.  From  the  plateau  the  trail 
dropped  down  into  the  valley  of  Willow  Creek.  We 
followed  the  trail  nearly  to  the  stream's  head,  and 
camped  at  a  spring.  The  horses  had  had  a  hard 
climb  and  we  needed  meat.  We  therefore  camped 
early,  thinking  that  We  would  get  our  meat  that 
afternoon,  and  the  following  day  would  examine 
the  mountains  for  a  permanent  camp.  It  was  now 
August  23,  and  storms  might  be  expected  at  any 
time.  Corey  and  I  went  hunting  in  the  afternoon, 
I  to  look  for  sheep  in  the  mountains  east  of  the 
camp,  while  he  went  to  the  southward  for  elk.  I 
saw  two  fat  rams,  but  had  no  opportunity  for  a 
sure  shot;  but  Corey  had  stumbled  on  a  band  of 
elk  about  two  miles  above  camp,  and  had  killed  a 
fat  bull  with  a  splendid  set  of  horns. 

211 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  next  morning  we  set  out  to  bring  in  a  good 
supply  of  meat,  taking  with  us  a  set  of  ice  scales 
used  for  weighing  our  animals,  where  this  was  de- 
sirable. My  diary  of  that  date  says : 

uGo  with  the  scales  to  weigh  bull  elk.  After 
being  drawn  (all  inside  viscera  removed  since  last 
evening)  he  weighs  830  pounds.  I  meet  with  a 
serious  accident  this  morning.  In  helping  to  lift 
the  elk  around,  jammed  my  right  leg  against  the 
sharp  tine  of  the  elk  horn.  It  penetrated  the  mus- 
cular part  of  my  leg  just  below  the  knee  on  right  of 
bone,  one  inch  deep  and  one  and  a  half  inches  long. 
Rode  to  camp  and  applied  cold  water,  after  closing 
the  wound  with  sticking  plaster.  Swollen  a  good 
deal  in  the  evening." 

That  note  tells  the  story.  The  scales  could  not 
weigh  the  animal  until  he  was  cut  into  four  or  five 
parts.  In  assisting  to  weigh  one  of  the  pieces,  my 
right  leg  was  jammed  against  a  small  tine  of  the 
elk  horn.  The  matter  appeared  to  me  very  seri- 
ous. In  two  cases  in  early  life  neglect  of  just  such 
hurts — or  of  wounds  of  a  less  serious  nature — had 
caused  a  local  erysipelas  that  lasted  three  months 
on  one  occasion.  The  nearest  surgeon  and  hospital 
was  at  Fort  Washakie,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  the  south.  The  nearest  haven  was  Fort  Ellis, 
near  Bozeman,  three  hundred  miles  to  the  north. 

212 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Neither  place  could  be  reached,  except  on  horse- 
back. I  knew  that  with  such  a  wound  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  travel  on  horseback  to  either 
of  these  army  posts.  That  night  after  supper  we 
held  a  council  of  war.  I  expressed  the  opinion  that 
it  would  be  a  month  before  it  would  be  safe  for 
me  to  travel  much.  We  had  plenty  of  food,  the 
weather  was  still  splendid,  and  I  thought  the  safest 
plan  was  to  stand  pat  and  await  developments. 
The  boys  cheerfully  acquiesced,  and  I  knew  they 
would  stick  by  me.  Immediately  on  returning  to 
camp,  I  began  to  make  use  of  experiences  of  the 
Civil  War.  Near  the  camp  there  was  a  snowbank 
left  from  last  winter.  The  boys  brought  a  bucket 
of  snow  and  bound  this  to  the  wound.  Snow  was 
kept  on  it  all  night,  and  with  good  effect. 

It  was  obvious  that  our  camp  must  be  made  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  permitted,  since  bad 
weather  might  come  at  any  time.  Corey's  first 
work  was  to  make  me  a  pair  of  crutches.  Then 
the  boys  made  a  splendid  spring  mattress  out  of 
small  pine  poles  and  the  boughs  of  evergreens.  We 
were  soon  perfectly  comfortable.  My  tent, 
12x14,  with  four-foot  walls,  a  tarpaulin  for  a 
floor  and  a  well  tested  camp  stove,  was  a  com- 
fortable home,  a  good  eating  place  and  a  sitting 
room  for  the  party.  The  boys  had  a  small  A 

213 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

tent.  We  made  one  mistake.  The  camp  should 
at  once  have  been  moved  up  into  a  pine  grove  just 
to  the  rear  as  a  protection  against  the  strong  west 
winds,  to  which  we  were  exposed.  This  had  not 
then  been  learned.  There  was  a  spring  of  pure 
water  within  fifty  yards  of  the  tents. 

My  crutches  reminded  me  of  the  accident  of 
Christmas,  1879,  when  my  mare  slipped  on  the 
ice  and  fell,  catching  and  crushing  my  right  foot. 
I  had  lively  recollections  of  the  difficulties  and 
discomforts  that  followed  that  occasion. 

By  continued  applications  of  ice  and  ice-cold 
water,  inflammation  of  the  wound  in  my  leg  was 
kept  down  and  it  continued  to>  improve;  but  it  was 
not  until  Sept.  22  that  I  made  an  effort  to  go  back 
to  the  old  life.  In  the  meantime  a  number  of 
things  took  place.  As  soon  as  we  had  finished 
putting  our  camp  in  order,  Corey  one  evening 
went  over  to  the  elk  carcass.  He  returned  before 
dark,  reporting  that  he  had  killed  an  old  grizzly 
bear  and  two  cubs.  Then  it  was  that  I  realized 
my  helpless  condition,  and  chafed  under  the  re- 
straint. The  next  day  he  brought  in  the  three 
skins.  Not  long  after  came  the  whistling  time  of 
the  elk.  One  night  a  bull  announced  his  presence 
only  a  few  hundred  yards  above  camp.  Corey 
slipped  out  and  killed  it,  reporting  it  good  and 

214 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

fat.  The  best  parts  of  the  bull  were  hung  up. 
Corey  trapped  a  little  and  caught  several  coyotes 
and  foxes  at  this  bait.  About  ten  days  later  an- 
other bull  was  killed  just  across  Willow  Creek,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  camp.  His  flesh  was  not 
good.  Early  in  September  we  had  snowstorms 
with  fierce  westerly  winds,  and  soon  the  snow  ac- 
cumulated and  began  to  form  drifts.  Meantime 
we  were  without  news  of  the  outside  world.  At 
this  time  there  were  only  four  cattlemen  in  the  Big 
Horn  Basin,  but  during  this  summer  we  united  and 
employed  Josh  Dean — still  living — at  $50  a  month 
to  bring  out  our  mail  once  a  month  from  the  near- 
est post-office.  Mine  at  this  time  was  delivered  at 
Otto  Franc's  ranch,  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant,  and 
one  of  the  men  used  to  go  for  it,  taking  with  him 
all  outgoing  letters. 

Sept.  22  Corey  set  out  with  the  mail.  That 
night  an  animal  was  heard  squalling  at  the  elk  bait 
across  Willow  Creek.  At  breakfast  I  suggested  to 
Heyford  that  he  take  his  rifle,  go  out  and  get  the 
fox  and  bring  the  skin  to  camp  and  tack  it  down 
to  dry.  After  breakfast,  the  fox  still  keeping  at 
this  noise,  Heyford  started  off  with  the  rifle  and  a 
skinning  knife.  He  had  newly  come  into  the  West, 
had  never  seen  a  bear  and  had  no  desire  to  do  so. 
He  soon  returned  to  the  camp  somewhat  excited, 

215 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

and  reported  that  instead  of  a  fox,  it  was  a  cub 
bear  in  the  trap.  The  mother  was  rooting  around 
nearby,  and  though  she  saw  him,  did  not  seem 
afraid.  I  felt  that  I  must  do  something.  For  some 
time  I  had  been  improving,  until  now  I  was  hob- 
bling around  on  one  crutch  and  one  stick.  The 
more  I  thought  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  bear 
the  stronger  I  felt,  and  finally  I  proposed  to 
Heyford  that  if  he  would  carry  my  rifle,  we  would 
go  out  and  see  the  bear.  I  supposed  that  the  old 
one  would  remain  with  her  cub,  and  we  took  no 
pains  to  conceal  our  approach.  She  must  have  dis- 
covered it,  for  when  I  hobbled  up  in  sight  of  the 
place  where  Heyford  had  left  her,  she  had  dis- 
appeared. Higher  up  the  mountain  I  saw  peeping 
over  a  rise  in  the  ground  a  dark  spot,  which  proved 
to  be  the  old  bear,  which  had  ignominiously  de- 
serted her  cub,  still  in  the  trap.  Heyford  killed 
and  skinned  the  cub,  and  we  returned  to  camp. 
The  exercise  of  the  forenoon  had  not  been  injuri- 
ous to  my  leg;  in  fact,  I  felt  better.  That  night 
Corey  returned  with  a  good  mail.  It  is  said  that 
troubles  generally  come  in  pairs,  and  something 
that  happened  a  day  or  two  later  tends  to  substan- 
tiate the  truth  of  this  saying.  The  second  day 
after  I  started  out  for  the  bear,  I  ventured  on  my 
first  ride  over  the  mountains  to  the  west,  into  the 

216 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

valley  of  a  large  creek,  afterward  named  Jack 
Creek.  We  came  on  two  mountain  sheep,  one  of 
which  I  killed. 

I  had  enjoyed  the  ride  so  much  that,  in  the 
afternoon,  I  returned  with  the  boys  for  the  meat, 
and  after  it  was  lashed  on  the  pack  horse,  I  went 
further  up  the  valley  at  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
telling  the  boys  that  I  would  return  by  another 
pass.  Fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  after  parting,  it 
became  necessary  to  cross  a  small  brooklet,  the  bed 
of  which  was  boggy,  as  in  these  mountains  is  often 
the  case.  The  distance  across  the  wide  place  was 
only  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Trusting  the  mud  was  not 
too  deep,  I  rode  Kate  in,  and  she  was  soon  up 
to  her  belly  in  soft  mud.  As  she  floundered  about 
trying  to  extricate  herself,  she  fell  over  on  her  right 
side  with  her  body  and  back  downstream,  catching 
my  right  leg  under  her.  Fortunately  there  were  no 
boulders,  and  the  soft  mud  was  so  deep  that  my 
thigh  was  pressed  down  into  the  mire  without  seri- 
ous injury,  but  my  person,  up  to  the  hips,  was  deep 
in  the  mud.  As  the  mare  lay,  her  body  was  much 
lower  than  her  feet,  which  made  it  more  difficult 
for  her  to  extricate  herself.  After  struggling 
awhile,  I  spoke  to  her  and  she  quieted  down.  I 
placed  my  left  foot,  then  free,  against  the  horn  of 
the  saddle  and  pressed  against  it  with  all  my  force. 

217 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

This  partly  righted  the  mare.  I  spoke  to  her,  she 
gave  a  few  struggles,  and  regained  her  feet.  I 
followed  her  lead,  scrambled  out  of  the  mud,  and 
soon  had  the  mare  on  solid  ground. 

This  suggests  one  of  the  dangers  of  solitary 
travel  in  the  mountains.  Had  this  accident  broken 
an  arm,  or  had  I  been  in  any  way  disabled,  I  might 
have  lain  there  all  night.  The  boys  would  not 
have  suspected  anything  wrong  before  dark,  and 
in  the  darkness  might  not  have  been  able  to  find 
me.  The  nights  were  then  cold,  ten  or  twelve  de- 
grees above  zero.  I  considered  myself  fortunate 
to  have  escaped  as  I  did,  and  continued  my  ride, 
reaching  camp  at  dark. 

In  the  morning  the  inside  of  my  thigh  was  some- 
what bruised,  but  several  days'  rest  in  camp  re- 
stored it  to  its  normal  condition.  I  was  still  care- 
ful of  my  injured  leg,  walking  about  camp  with 
one  crutch  and  a  cane. 

We  had  not  forgotten  the  old  bear.  A  short 
time  after  the  last  incident  Corey,  when  he  visited 
his  traps  one  morning,  found  one  of  them  missing. 
Further  signs  of  a  cub  bear  were  to  be  seen,  and 
the  chain  fastening  the  trap  had  been  broken.  He 
naturally  suspected  the  old  bear.  Two  or  three 
nights  afterward  the  jingling  of  a  chain  was  heard 
in  the  direction  of  the  bait  across  Willow  Creek, 

218 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

and  we  felt  sure  that  the  old  she  bear  was  there, 
the  cub  carrying  around  the  trap,  which  the  old 
bear  had  broken  loose  at  an  earlier  visit.  Telling 
Corey  to  carry  my  rifle,  I  hobbled  after  him  with 
crutch  and  stick.  We  approached  with  much  cau- 
tion, following  down  the  streamlet  which  flowed 
by  the  camp  to  its  mouth,  and  thence  under  cover 
of  a  bank,  following  up  a  swale  on  the  opposite 
side  of  Willow  Creek,  intending  to  get  behind 
the  carcass,  where  the  bears  were  supposed  to  be. 
Nevertheless,  in  some  mysterious  way,  the  bear 
had  received  a  hint  of  our  movements,  for  after 
climbing  high  enough  to  look  over  the  ground, 
there  was  nothing  in  sight.  It  was  bright  moon- 
light. 

Above  us  in  the  direction  of  the  pass  over  the 
mountain  which  bear  used,  there  was  a  plain  sound 
of  iron  being  dragged  over  boulders.  Corey  at 
once  gave  me  my  rifle,  and  rapidly  followed  the 
sound,  while  I  stopped  behind  to  await  develop- 
ments. In  half  an  hour  he  returned  rather  hur- 
riedly, and  reported  that  after  following  the  cub 
and  going  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  pass,  he  had 
come  so  close  to  the  cub  as  to  make  a  rush  for  it 
to  try  and  secure  his  trap.  However,  the  old  bear 
was  on  the  watch  on  the  mountainside  above  and 
to  the  right,  and  she  made  a  dash  for  Corey. 

219 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Corey  stood  not  on  the  order  of  his  going,  but 
went  at  once.  As  soon  as  the  old  bear  got  between 
her  cub  and  danger  she  stopped,  but  Corey  did 
not  stop. 

The  next  day  Corey  scouted  around  the  patch 
of  timber  where  he  believed  the  bear  remained  in 
the  daytime,  and  thought  he  heard  the  jingling 
of  the  chain  as  the  cub  moved  about.  He  did 
not  think  it  prudent  to  investigate.  The  second 
evening  after  that,  about  9  o'clock,  with  a  bright 
moon,  a  squall  very  similar  to  that  of  the  cub 
came  from  the  direction  of  the  elk  carcass,  and  we 
determined  to  investigate.  Binding  a  wad  of  white 
tissue  paper  on  the  end  of  the  rifle  barrel,  Corey 
and  I  started  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  he,  as 
before,  carrying  my  rifle  and  I  walking  on  a  crutch. 
After  we  reached  Willow  Creek,  we  went  up  that 
stream  about  a  hundred  yards,  and  then  climbed 
the  bench  toward  the  bait  in  a  direction  opposite 
to  that  taken  on  the  previous  occasion.  When 
high  enough  up  to  obtain  a  view,  there  was  the  old 
bear  quietly  feeding  and  the  cub  squalling  by  her 
side.  Getting  my  cartridges  ready,  I  moved  in 
a  stooping  position,  until  I  had  reached  a  place 
where  I  had  an  unobstructed  shot,  and  dropping 
to  my  knee,  was  ready  to  fire.  The  cub  saw  us 
first,  telling  the  old  bear.  She  turned  with  her 

220 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

right  side  exposed,  and  the  shot  was  aimed  care- 
fully. 

"Here  she  comes,"  hoarsely  whispered  Corey. 
I  fired  a  second  shot,  and  still  she  rushed  on.  Then 
Corey  fired,  giving  her  a  desperate  wound.  Still 
she  rushed  onward,  and  when  within  a  few  jumps  I 
fired  a  final  shot.  It  did  not  stop  her,  but  she 
turned  to  the  left,  down  hill,  stumbled  along  for  a 
little  way,  fell  and  soon  was  still.  She  was  twelve 
steps  from  us  as  she  lay. 

Next  morning,  measuring  the  ground  from  the 
elk  carcass  to  the  pile  of  shells,  the  distance  proved 
to  be  forty-seven  yards.  Examination  of  the  bear 
showed  that  every  shot  hit  about  the  center  of  the 
mass  as  the  animal  approached.  Corey's  shot,  with 
a  light  bullet,  was  an  excellent  one,  and  penetrated 
deeply.  After  a  little  time  the  first  shot  would 
have  killed.  Considering  the  moonlight  and  the 
somewhat  exciting  surroundings,  it  was  first-class 
practice. 

After  dressing  the  bear,  we  were  puzzled  to 
know  what  to  do  with  the  cub.  Corey,  who  was 
wearing  his  leather  shaps,  and  so  did  not  fear 
teeth  or  claws,  walked  up  to  the  little  animal, 
which,  as  soon  as  he  was  within  reach,  rushed 
savagely  at  him,  seized  him  by  the  legs  and  clawed 
most  energetically,  but  the  leather  was  too  thick. 

221 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

He  kicked  the  little  bear  off  and  was  obliged  to 
club  him  into  something  like  submission,  but  the 
animal  manifested  so  much  life  and  innate  sav- 
agery, that  we  determined  to  save  him  and  try  to 
bring  him  in  alive.  With  some  trouble,  the  chain 
was  loosened  from  the  stub  to  which  it  had  become 
fastened,  and  with  much  pulling  and  some  pound- 
ing he  was  brought  to  camp  and  tied  to  a  sapling, 
where  there  was  a  good  bed.  All  through  the 
night,  at  short  intervals,  the  cub  kept  up  his  mourn- 
ful, heartbreaking  wails,  which  sounded  some- 
thing like  the  cry  of  a  child,  but  were  a  little 
hoarser.  I  began  to  feel  sorry  for  the  cub,  even 
though  its  mother  had  tried  her  best  to  gobble  us 
up.  I  even  asked  myself  why  Corey  had  beaten 
that  cub  so  hard.  Next  morning  we  went  to  the 
cub  to  offer  him  some  fat  elk  meat.  Our  kindly 
intentions  were  not  appreciated,  and  there  gleamed 
a  savage  light  from  his  eyes.  He  rushed  at  Corey, 
seized  his  leg,  scratching  and  gnawing  at  the 
leather  shaps  as  viciously  as  last  night.  I  felt  that 
he  needed  no  sympathy.  He  ate  his  breakfast 
greedily,  which  confirmed  that  view. 

When  the  robe — a  very  fine  one — was  brought 
in,  Corey  thoughtlessly  threw  it  to  the  cub,  which 
recognized  it  and  gave  a  distressing  exhibition  of 
affection. 

222 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

My  injured  leg  had  now  so  much  improved  that 
I  decided  to  trust  it.  Besides,  snow  was  falling, 
the  temperature  getting  lower,  snowdrifts  were 
becoming  deeper,  winter  was  approaching.  It  was 
time  to  seek  a  lower  altitude.  It  was  now  the  first 
day  of  October,  and  we  had  been  here  since  August 
23.  It  was  not  a  good  camp,  exposed  as  it  was 
to  westerly  winds  and  the  drifting  snow.  We 
determined  therefore  to  go  down  the  mountains, 
making  the  first  camp  at  the  spot  near  the  Grey 
Bull,  at  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Fork,  where  we 
were  in  camp  for  several  weeks  the  year  before. 
This  was  the  camp  from  which  I  had  killed  nine- 
teen grizzlies  within  a  month. 

As  I  could  be  of  little  assistance  in  packing,  I 
left  ahead  of  the  packs,  intending  to  watch  a  cer- 
tain point  near  the  new  camp  for  a  bear.  I  reached 
the  Grey  Bull,  found  the  site  of  the  old  camp,  and 
at  the  proper  time  went  to  the  mouth  of  Jack  Creek 
to  look  for  the  bear.  He  did  not  appear  before 
dark,  and  I  returned  to  camp,  built  a  big  fire  and 
awaited  the  arrival  of  the  outfit.  It  was  not  until 
about  9  o'clock  that  I  heard  shouts  across  the  creek, 
and  soon  after,  the  outfit  crossed  at  a  ford,  and  we 
were  comfortably  in  camp.  Corey  reported  that 
when  they  started  he  was  unable  to  put  the  cub  on 
the  packs  and  that  he  had  finally  set  it  free.  I 

223 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

was  greatly  pleased  that  he  had  done  so,  for  the 
cub  would  have  been  a  great  care  and  trouble,  even 
if  we  could  have  taken  it  to  civilization.  I  felt  no 
concern  for  the  cub's  welfare  this  winter,  for  there 
were  three  elk  carcasses  on  which  it  could  fatten 
until  the  time  came  for  it  to  "hole  up."  If  these 
were  not  enough,  there  was  the  old  bear  on  which 
it  might  feed,  since  bears  readily  eat  other  bears. 

The  bear  that  I  looked  for  at  the  mouth  of  Jack 
Creek  was  likely  to  visit  that  bait  late  at  night,  and 
I  determined  to  track  him  to  his  den  in  the  snow. 
In  this  I  was  unsuccessful.  Several  places  were 
found  where  there  were  fresh  signs  of  his  having 
laid  up  during  the  day,  but  in  no  case  was  he  at 
home,  and  after  an  ineffectual  half  day's  work 
endeavoring  to  find  him,  I  gave  it  up. 

I  was  so  much  discouraged  at  the  outlook  here 
that  I  determined  to  close  the  campaign  and  at 
once  seek  winter  quarters.  The  trail  close  to  the 
mountains  was  too  deeply  covered  with  snow  to  be 
followed,  and  I  chose  one  lower  down.  The  first 
camp  was  made  six  or  seven  miles  below,  close  to 
the  river  bank.  In  front  was  a  meadow  with  a 
spring  at  the  foot  of  the  bench.  On  the  left,  just 
behind  the  camp,  was  a  cottonwood  grove,  backed 
by  a  dense  willow  thicket.  Above  the  thicket  was 
another  larger  meadow  with  two  bold  springs.  I 

224 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

was  so  impressed  with  the  situation  that  I  selected 
it  for  a  ranch  to  be  entered  under  the  land  laws  as 
a  pre-emption  claim.  I  made  arrangements  with 
Corey  to  build  for  me  during  the  winter  a  cabin  of 
suitable  size  with  three  rooms.  The  buildings 
were  constructed  during  the  following  winter  and 
spring,  and,  with  improvements  made  later,  be- 
came my  residence  until  the  fall  of  1904. 

About  this  time  the  track  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  had  reached  the  present  town  of 
Billings,  Montana,  and  I  determined  to  make  for 
that  point  and  to  decide  later  on  winter  quarters. 
We  set  out  therefore  for  Billings,  and  on  October 
30  reached  a  camp  near  the  ranch  of  J.  Bradley 
on  the  North  Fork  of  Stinking  River.  This  camp 
is  just  above  the  canon  of  this  stream,  where  is 
now  being  erected  (September,  1908)  a  dam  307 
feet  in  height,  which  will  overflow  much  of  this 
country.  I  arranged  with  J.  Bradley  to  take  me 
with  my  baggage  to  Billings  in  his  wagon,  leav- 
ing my  pack  outfit,  horses  and  all  other  property 
at  his  ranch.  I  also  arranged  that  he  should  meet 
me  at  Billings  in  the  spring  and  bring  me  out  to 
my  ranch  on  the  Grey  Bull.  I  arranged  with 
Corey  to  take  care  of  my  horses  and  packs  for  the 
winter.  Corey  and  Heyford  were  to  go  to  Bill- 
ings on  horseback  and  to  be  paid  off  there.  We 

225 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

left  the  ranch  October  31,  crossed  the  divide  by  the 
Heart  Mountain  Pass  to  Pat  O'Hara  Creek, 
thence  to  the  Yellowstone  River,  and  so  to  Bill- 
ings, Montana,  which  we  reached  the  afternoon  of 
November  5.  A  little  later  the  boys,  who  were 
enjoying  their  return  to  civilization,  were  settled 
with.  An  association  of  six  months  under  the  try- 
ing conditions  of  the  mountains  had  naturally 
brought  us  close  together,  and  genuine  friendships 
resulted. 

I  took  quarters  at  the  Metropolitan,  a  new  hotel 
of  rough  boards  hastily  thrown  together  and  thor- 
oughly well  ventilated.  Here  I  had  the  great 
pleasure  of  meeting  two  old  friends  of  ante- 
bellum days,  Joel  B.  Glough  and  Adna  Anderson. 
We  had  been  fellow  civil  engineers  on  connecting 
railroads  in  Tennessee  for  several  years,  and  had 
become  good  friends.  Adna  Anderson  was  a  fel- 
low member  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  En- 
gineers. He  was  at  that  time  engineer  in  chief  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  while  J.  B.  Glough 
was  his  principal  assistant  engineer  at  the  end  of 
the  track.  It  was  extremely  pleasant  to  meet  these 
men  in  this  out  of  the  way  part  of  the  country. 

I  spent  about  two  weeks  in  and  around  Billings, 
partly  on  business.  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Glough 
were  very  kind.  I  made  a  trip  with  Glough  to  the 

226 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

head  of  the  track,  sleeping  in  boarding  cars  and 
enjoying  it  all. 

The  hotel  which  I  occupied  was  a  small  con- 
struction of  loose  boards,  and  the  change  from 
sleeping  in  a  warm  tent  to  these  quarters  in  a  barn 
of  a  hotel,  did  not  agree  with  me.  I  caught  cold, 
and  on  November  2 1  became  seriously  sick.  When 
my  friends  learned  of  it,  they  at  once  sent  me  one  of 
the  best  of  surgeons,  Dr.  Parker,  who  pronounced 
the  disease  pneumonia  in  one  lung,  and  two  nurses 
were  provided.  In  a  week  the  other  lung  became 
involved.  The  next  morning  after  this  new  com- 
plication, appeared  friend  Glough  with  the  doctor 
and  four  stout  men  with  a  stretcher,  and  told  me 
that  it  was  imperative  that  I  should  have  more 
comfortable  quarters.  I  was  put  on  the  stretcher, 
carried  through  the  streets  for  several  hundred 
yards  and  deposited  on  a  very  comfortable  bed  in 
a  convenient,  well  furnished  room  in  a  building 
constructed  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Co. 
for  the  use  of  its  Engineer  Corps.  The  room  was 
Mr.  Glough's  own  room,  which  he  had  given  up 
to  me. 

For  twenty-six  days  I  was  sick  with  this  dread 
disease,  and  for  a  week  my  fate  hung  in  the 
balance.  At  last,  however,  the  kindness  and  atten- 
tion of  Colonel  Glough,  Dr.  Parker  and  Mrs. 

227 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Tomlinson,  the  matron  of  the  building,  together 
with  a  strong  constitution,  pulled  me  through  the 
crisis.  While  I  was  convalescing,  Dr.  Monroe 
came  from  Bozeman  to  visit  me,  as  also*  did 
George  Wakefield  and  Mr.  Huffman.  On  Decem- 
ber 1 8,  with  Colonel  Glough,  Mrs.  Tomlinson  and 
a  number  of  young  engineers,  who  were  going 
East,  I  left  for  Minneapolis.  When  wholly  recov- 
ered, about  the  middle  of  January,  I  went  to 
Denver,  Colo.,  where  I  remained  until  May,  when 
I  returned  to  St.  Paul.  I  left  Billings  May  15  for 
my  new  ranch  on  the  Grey  Bull,  riding  my  old 
horse,  purchased  at  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell 
from  Pike  Landusky,  which  had  carried  me  over 
many  a  mile  of  prairie  and  mountain.  We  reached 
my  ranch  on  the  Grey  Bull  River  May  30.  I  had 
engaged  J.  Bradley  and  his  wife  to  live  with  me, 
and  we  shortly  moved  into  the  buildings  which 
Corey  had  finished,  and  took  formal  possession. 
I  lived  on  that  ranch  until  the  fall  of  1904, 
twenty-one  years. 


228 


I  883 

In  September,  1883,  I  was  living  on  my  cattle 
ranch  on  Grey  Bull  River,  Wyoming,  Big  Horn 
County,  with  Jay  Bradley  and  his  wife  as 
employees;  Mrs.  Bradley  as  housekeeper  and 
cook,  and  Jay  doing  the  outside  work. 

I  had  determined  with  Bradley  to  take  a  hunt 
in  the  mountains  to  the  west  for  grizzly  bear  and 
elk,  the  latter  for  winter's  meat. 

We  were  to  have  started  the  next  day,  Septem- 
ber 12,  when  word  came  that  Otto  Franc,  my 
neighbor,  six  miles  below,  while  gathering  his  beef 
cattle  preparatory  to  taking  them  to  Chicago  to 
market,  had  met  with  a  misfortune  in  which, 
during  a  stampede,  fifty  fat  beeves,  while  attempt- 
ing to  cross  a  deep  gulch,  had  been  trampled  to 
death  by  those  following.  The  catastrophe  had 
taken  place  about  three  miles  below  me,  near  the 
river,  at  the  mouth  of  Rose  Creek,  a  mountain 
stream,  which,  through  a  gorge  about  twenty  feet 
in  depth,  entered  Grey  Bull  River  from  the  north. 

229 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

My  neighbor,  Richard  Ashworth,  had  filed  on  the 
land  around  the  mouth  of  this  creek,  and  George 
Marquette  was  constructing  the  necessary  ranch 
buildings  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
Among  his  other  belongings,  George  owned  an 
"ornery11  bench-legged  dog. 

The  men  in  charge  of  the  seventy-five  beeves 
already  collected,  crossed  the  cattle  just  above  the 
mouth  of  this  creek,  the  cattle  coming  out  of  the 
river  bottom  on  to  the  bench  just  opposite  the  tent 
occupied  by  George  and  his  dog.  As  soon  as 
the  leaders  of  the  herd  emerged  from  the  bottom, 
the  dog  burst  out  at  them,  barking  fiercely.  Fat 
cattle  are  usually  easily  alarmed,  and  in  this  case 
the  leaders  were  greatly  frightened.  They  turned 
square  to  the  right,  ran  at  full  speed  toward  the 
gorge  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  the  others  of  the 
herd  as  they  came  to  the  top  of  the  bench  madly 
following  the  leaders.  The  leaders,  naturally 
hesitating  on  the  brink,  were  swept  into  the  gorge, 
followed  by  the  balance  of  the  herd.  The  finale 
was  that  the  gorge  was  literally  filled  up  and 
bridged  over  with  a  mass  of  fat  beeves  of  1,200 
to  1,500  pounds  weight,  about  fifty  head  being 
trampled  to  death. 

From  my  knowledge  of  grizzly  bears,  I  knew 
that  all  the  bears  from  the  surrounding  mountains 

230 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

would  be  attracted  to  this  pile  of  fat  flesh,  so  I 
determined  quietly  to  await  developments  at  home. 

Knowing  the  habits  of  these  bears,  it  was  evi- 
dently a  discreet  policy  to  move  with  a  good  deal 
of  caution ;  not  to  show  myself  to  them  or  to  leave 
my  scent  around  or  near  the  bait  late  in  the  day. 
Alarmed  in  any  way,  they  would  at  once  become 
cautious,  and  would  come  to  feed  only  at  night. 
I  accordingly  scouted  around  early  in  the  day  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  locality  to  ascertain  the  route 
by  which  the  bears  approached,  and  then  late  in 
the  evening,  watched  the  trail  some  distance  back 
from  instead  of  at  the  carcasses.  The  bears  soon 
found  the  feast  and  commenced  their  visitations. 

Four  or  five  days  were  required  to  ascertain  the 
direction  from  which  they  came  and  the  route  or 
trail  they  used.  I  found  that  one  or  more  came 
down  Rose  Creek,  or  Four  Bear,  as  it  was  after- 
ward named,  and  one  or  two  came  down  the  river 
on  the  north  side.  Watching  the  trail  on  the 
latter  stream,  on  two  evenings,  I  saw  a  bear  pass 
down  about  sundown,  but  on  each  occasion  out  of 
good  rifle  range. 

A  few  evenings  afterward,  the  same  bear  again 
passed  down  the  valley,  but  still  out  of  rifle  range. 
Unless  sure  of  a  certain  hit,  in  a  vital  place,  it  was 
not  good  policy  to  fire.  Watching  the  other  trail, 

231 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

I  selected  a  location  near  the  carcass,  to  catch  the 
bear  coming  down  the  river,  thinking  he  laid  up 
during  the  day  in  a  certain  thicket.  Going  early 
to  a  position  at  the  head  of  the  trail  he  traveled  in 
coming  from  the  thicket,  a  porcupine  was  encoun- 
tered, and  by  punching  him  with  my  rifle,  he  was 
made  to  climb  a  small  tree,  and  was  made  an 
object  lesson — a  sign  that  there  was  no  danger. 

Soon  after  locating  myself,  a  dark  object  was 
seen  on  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  apparently  peeping 
out.  He  soon  satisfied  himself  that  the  way  was 
clear,  and  walked  rapidly  toward  me.  He  had 
reached  the  foot  of  the  trail  approaching  me — 
about  twenty  yards  distant — when  I  delivered  a 
shot,  but  it  was  not  effective.  As  he  rushed  back 
toward  the  thicket,  two  more  shots  were  delivered, 
when  he  dropped  at  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  too 
badly  hit  to  go  further.  This  happened  before 
night.  He  was  disemboweled  and  the  ranch  was 
reached  before  dark.  After  firing  several  shots 
around  a  carcass  it  was  useless  to  remain  longer, 
as  no  bear  would  come  till  late  at  night. 

I  now  turned  my  attention  to  the  bears  ap- 
proaching from  Four  Bear  Creek.  The  first  even- 
ing's reconnaissance  came  near  success.  Lying  in 
full  view  of  a  trail,  but  close  enough,  with  plenty 
of  daylight  for  a  safe  shot,  an  old  bear  and  two 

232 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

cubs  came  along  the  trail.  In  rising  to  a  position 
for  delivering  a  shot,  the  rustling  of  the  grass 
attracted  the  bear's  attention,  and  she  stopped,  the 
cubs  sitting  up  and  looking  to  see  what  was  up. 
It  had  become  dark,  and  the  distance  being  125 
yards,  I  determined  not  to  risk  a  shot,  but  wait  for 
a  more  convenient  season.  They  passed  on  down. 

A  reconnaissance  the  next  morning  indicated 
that  the  bears  laid  up  during  the  day  in  a  willow 
thicket  near  the  creek  and  about  a  mile  above  the 
pile  of  beef.  I  selected  a  place  on  the  hillside  near 
the  trail  they  traveled,  to  occupy  that  evening.  I 
was  accordingly  on  hand  about  sundown,  and  was 
soon  in  position,  dressed  in  a  buckskin  suit  of  the 
color  of  dead  grass. 

The  light  was  becoming  dim,  when  a  slight 
sound  came  from  the  thicket  above,  and  soon  there 
appeared  on  the  trail  a  dark  object,  followed  by 
two  smaller  dark  spots.  I  at  once  realized  it  was 
the  old  bear  and  the  cubs,  and  prepared  for  what 
was  to  come.  The  trail  along  which  they  ap- 
proached passed  within  thirty  feet  of  me.  My 
first  shot  was  delivered  when  the  old  she  bear  was 
within  fifty  feet.  In  the  dusk  it  was  not  at  once 
fatal,  for  she  rushed  toward  me  with  two  or  three 
jumps,  and  then  not  knowing  exactly  where  I  lay, 
stood  on  hindfeet  to  look  for  me.  I  was  then 

233 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ready  for  her,  and  a  close  shot  delivered  into  her 
chest  rolled  her  over.  I  then  delivered  a  shot  into 
each  of  the  cubs,  one  of  which  managed  to  get 
back  into  the  brush.  I  quickly  followed,  and  by 
its  squalling  found  it  and  delivered  another  shot. 
As  it  ceased  squalling,  I  was  satisfied  it  was  dead. 
By  the  time  these  bears  were  dressed  it  was  fully 
dark,  but  the  moon  was  shining,  although  occa- 
sionally obscured  by  a  cloud. 

I  determined  to  make  a  scout  around  that  pile 
of  beef  before  bedtime.  Mounting  my  hunting 
mare  Kate,  I  made  a  circuit  to  the  left  for  some 
distance,  so  as  not  to  alarm  any  animal  there, 
'either  by  scent  or  noise.  Cautiously  approaching, 
my  mare  was  tied  to  a  tree  about  three  hundred 
yards  to  leeward  of  the  carcasses.  The  mare  acted 
very  uneasy  and  must  have  scented  the  bears. 

I  took  the  precaution  to  tie  a  wad  of  white  tissue 
paper  on  the  end  of  the  rifle  barrel,  over  the  sight, 
for  night  work,  and  cautiously  approached.  My 
object  was  to  slip  up  to  the  edge  of  the  gulch  and 
have  a  commanding  view  below.  At  such  short 
range  I  could  get  one  good  shot,  and  then  depend 
on  having  a  second  shot  as  the  bear  ascended  the 
opposite  side,  which  had  a  gentler  slope. 

When  within  one  hundred  feet  of  the  rim  of  the 
gulch,  a  coyote  passed  just  in  front  of  me  and  dis- 

234 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

appeared  down  toward  where  the  bear  would  be 
found.  I  knew  he  would  at  once  give  the  alarm. 
Knowing  that  animal's  character  for  veracity,  or, 
rather,  for  lack  of  veracity,  I  hoped  the  bears,  if 
any  were  there,  would  pay  no  attention  to  him,  so 
I  walked  rapidly  toward  the  gulch.  When  within 
fifty  feet  of  the  brink,  two  dark  objects  appeared, 
walking  rapidly  up  the  opposite  slope.  The  moon 
was  clouded  over,  and  as  I  was  not  ready  to  shoot, 
I  at  once  dropped  and  lay  prone  and  very  close  to 
the  ground.  When  the  bears  reached  the  top  of 
the  bank  they  stopped,  and  immediately  sat  up 
and  looked  very  intently  in  my  direction.  Then 
they  walked  away  about  fifty  feet,  turned  and 
walked  back  again,  and  again  sat  up  and  looked. 
They  moved  about,  back  and  forth,  in  most  in- 
tricate or  fantastic  fashion,  sitting  up  occasionally 
to  try  to  discover  danger.  They  evidently  had 
not  believed  the  coyote  talk,  yet  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  take  any  chances. 

Discovering  no  sign  of  danger,  and  doubtless 
being  hungry,  they  returned  down  the  slope  to  the 
feast.  I  was  on  the  point  of  slipping  up  to  the 
brink  and  delivering  a  shot,  believing  I  could  get 
both — the  second  one  as  he  ascended  the  slope. 
Before  I  had  time  to  move,  however,  the  coyote, 
doubtless  wishing  a  free  hand  at  the  carcasses,  had 

235 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

insisted  on  his  story,  the  two  bears  walked  swiftly 
up  the  opposite  slope,  again  sat  up,  took  a  search- 
ing view  in  my  direction  and  commenced  going 
through  the  same  gyrations  as  before.  Had  they 
believed  the  coyote's  tale  at  first,  they  would  have 
come  up  from  the  gulch  on  a  run  and  disappeared. 

Their  actions  plainly  showed  their  uneasiness 
and  their  doubt  as  to  what  course  to  pursue.  Be- 
fore them  was  that  mass  of  fat  flesh  they  were 
eager  to  fill  up  on ;  yet,  in  the  face  of  the  story  told 
by  that  lying  coyote,  that  their  inveterate  enemy 
was  lurking  near,  they  hesitated  to  take  the 
chances.  Finally,  at  a  swift  walk,  they  went  up 
the  opposite  bank,  thus  apparently  intent  on  some 
scheme.  I  kept  them  in  sight  with  my  field  glasses 
until,  after  going  about  two  hundred  yards,  they 
stopped,  remained  irresolute  for  a  while,  and  then 
retraced  their  steps  and  appeared  on  the  point  of 
descending  to  where  the  coyote  was  enjoying 
himself. 

They  were  evidently  afraid  to  do  so,  and  again 
sat  up  and  looked  long  and  intently  in  my  direc- 
tion. My  clothes  were  so  much  the  color  of  dry 
grass  and  I  hugged  the  ground  so  closely,  with  my 
head  to  them,  that  they  did  not  discover  danger. 
Again  they  began  to  do  what  they  had  done  be- 
fore— walking  away  fifty  feet  or  more,  then  com- 

236 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

ing  back  again,  and  sitting  up  and  looking  intently 
in  my  direction.  By  this  time  I  became  very  much 
interested  as  to  the  significance  of  their  actions, 
and  my  wits  became  sharpened.  I  became  inter- 
ested in  guessing  at  what  these  two  hungry  bears 
would  do. 

Finally  putting  their  heads  together,  they  ap- 
parently held  a  council  of  war  and  determined  on 
a  course  of  action.  They  moved  swiftly  up  the 
creek,  as  once  before  they  had  done.  I  watched 
them  through  the  field  glasses,  for  the  moon  was 
shining,  and  they  soon  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

It  then  dawned  upon  me  what  these  bears  were 
up  to.  Evidently  they  intended  to  cross  the  creek 
a  short  distance  above,  make  a  circuit  some  dis- 
tance in  rear  of  the  point  where  they  feared  their 
enemy  lurked,  obtain  its  wind,  ascertain  what  it 
was  and  then  act. 

In  the  bright  moonlight  and  the  open  cotton- 
wood  timber  a  good  view  could  be  had  by  the  aid 
of  glasses  for  a  long  distance  up  the  creek.  I  kept 
a  sharp  lookout,  and  soon  detected  two  dark 
objects,  and  approaching.  My  surmise  had  proved 
correct.  It  was  time  to  act.  Withdrawing  cau- 
tiously out  of  sight,  I  made  a  circuit  to  the  rear 
far  enough,  as  I  believed,  to  circumvent  their 
designs,  took  a  position  in  a  low  swale,  and  waited. 

237 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

As  they  approached  at  a  fast  walk,  they  could 
be  easily  heard  sniffing  the  air  for  the  scent  of  their 
enemy.  They  looked  fearfully  big  in  the  moon- 
light. Finding  my  position  was  sufficiently  far 
back  to  circumvent  their  design,  I  lay  down  on 
the  side  of  the  swale  in  a  position  from  which  I 
could  quickly  rise  to  a  sitting  posture  and  deliver 
fire.  Sniffing  the  air  audibly,  they  came  rapidly 
forward,  and  as  it  happened,  along  the  lowest  part 
of  the  swale  in  which  I  lay,  and  with  the  direction 
taken,  they  would  soon  stumble  upon  me.  They 
were  approaching  so  rapidly  that  something  had 
to  be  done  soon.  It  was  now  "either  a  fight  or  a 
foot  race."  I  did  not  hesitate,  but  rose  quickly  to  a 
sitting  position  with  rifle  ready  for  action.  At  the 
change  of  position  the  two  bears,  either  from  noise 
made  by  my  movement  or  getting  a  sight  of  some- 
thing unusual  in  the  moonlight,  stopped.  Almost 
as  quick  as  thought,  by  a  careful  aim,  I  delivered 
fire  at  the  mass  of  the  foremost  bear,  and  at  the 
crack  of  the  rifle  he  fell  in  his  tracks.  The  other 
bear  remained  motionless,  apparently  dazed.  An- 
other cartridge  was  quickly  inserted,  but  before 
aim  could  be  taken  he  sprung  off  to  the  left  and  was 
soon  on  a  full  run  to  the  hills  near,  making  fear- 
fully long  jumps.  Before  he  had  gone  far,  the 
first  shot  was  delivered — a  miss;  then  a  second 

238 


"BATTLEFIELD"   OF   SEPT.    13,    1883. 

A  B — Route   of  cattle   crossing  river. 

H— Marquee  tent   (unoccupied  that  night)  and  dog. 

H  B — Route  of  dog  when   he  said  bow-wow. 

F— Where   Kate  was   tied. 

E— Where  hunter  lay  flat. 

C  H  L  M— Route  of  two  bears  in  crossing  creek. 

M — Where  the  last  bears  stood. 

K— Point  whence  last  shots  were  fired. 

M  N— Route  of  second  bear  as  he  escaped. 

G — Pile  of  beeves. 

S — Camp  of  U.  S.   Surveyors. 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

shot — a  miss,  and  he  soon  disappeared  in  the  dark- 
ness. These  shots  were  fired  about  half  past  nine 
o'clock.  Before  their  reverberations  had  ceased 
they  were  answered  by  the  yells  and  whoops  of  a 
party  of  United  States  surveyors,  encamped,  as  I 
learned  later,  across  the  Grey  Bull  River,  just 
above  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 

On  examining  the  carcass,  I  found  that  the  bullet 
had  penetrated  the  skull  near  the  eye,  passing 
through  the  brain,  and  hence  the  sudden  and 
motionless  death.  As  the  fore-sight  was  a  wad  of 
white  tissue  paper  bound  on  the  end  of  the  barrel, 
this  proved  a  good  shot  at  thirty-seven  and  one- 
half  yards,  as  measured  from  the  carcass  the  next 
day,  to  the  point  at  which  the  three  empty  shells 
were  found. 

I  should  have  secured  the  other  bear,  but  in 
inserting  the  cartridge  in  the  Sharps  rifle  it  was 
not  pushed  in  far  enough,  there  was  a  hitch  in  clos- 
ing the  breech-action,  and  precious  time  was  lost. 

No  further  attention  was  paid  to  the  humble 
coyote.  By  his  strategy  he  had  earned  his  good 
luck,  as  for  that  night  at  least,  he  had  undisputed 
sway  over  the  pile  of  beef. 

After  hastily  dressing  this  bear,  Kate  was  hunted 
up,  mounted,  and  by  midnight  I  was  abed,  well 
satisfied  with  the  evening's  work. 

239 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

As  my  ranch  had  not  been  occupied  until  May 
30,  there  had  been  little  preparation  for  winter's 
vegetables.  Jay  Bradley  had  gone  to  a  ranch  fifty 
miles  to  the  north  for  a  thousand  pounds  of  pota- 
toes, bought  at  four  cents  per  pound,  and  was  due 
the  next  morning.  I  accordingly  intercepted  him 
the  next  forenoon,  the  wagon  was  driven  by  the 
carcasses,  they  were  loaded  into  it  and  brought  to 
the  ranch.  In  passing  home  we  met  my  neighbor, 
Richard  Ashworth,  who  soon  after  moved  to  his 
new  ranch.  He  stopped  and  wondered  at  the 
wagon  box  full  of  grizzly  bear.  These  bear  were 
all  weighed  by  a  pair  of  ice  scales;  the  old  bears, 
350  pounds  each  after  dressing,  equivalent  to  475 
pounds  on  foot,  and  the  cub  100  pounds,  equal  to 
135  pounds  on  foot. 

As  it  happened,  Mr.  Ashworth  visited  the  U.  S. 
surveyors'  camp,  and  told  them  of  the  result  of  the 
firing  the  night  before.  As  these  surveyors  were 
giving  names  to  all  streams  for  their  maps,  the 
name  of  this  creek,  at  neighbor  Ashworth's  sug- 
gestion, was  changed  from  Rose  to  Four  Bear 
Creek.  In  after  years,  when  a  postoffice  was 
established  in  this  neighborhood,  the  name  Four 
Bears  was  given  it  in  the  petition  for  its  establish- 
ment. 

I  have  given  this  night's  happenings  thus  in 
240 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

detail,  as  it  was  one  of  the  most  exciting  adventures 
I  ever  had,  in  an  experience  of  more  than  seven 
years  with  this  big  bear,  and  required  the  exercise 
of  the  greatest  coolness  and  judgment  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  habits  of  this  fierce  animal. 

Had  the  last  bear  received  any  other  wound, 
however  fatal,  except  the  paralyzing  shot  through 
the  brain,  there  might  have  been  not  a  little  trouble 
that  moonlit  night,  in  which  the  bear's  partner 
might  have  taken  a  hand. 

Wm.  D.  Pickett. 


241 


NOTES  ON  MEMORIES  OF  A  BEAR  HUNTER 
BY  GEO.  BIRD  GRINNELL 

To  many  readers  the  years  told  of  in  Colonel 
Pickett's  Memories  will  seem  a  period  of  romance,  and 
it  is  true  that  they  deal  with  ancient  history.  Of  his 
references  and  allusions  to  people,  places  and  events, 
some  or  many — though  matters  of  common  knowl- 
edge at  the  time  of  which  he  writes — have  now  long 
been  forgotten,  except  by  the  small  number  of  people 
who  were  familiar  with  those  times.  It  was  not  long 
after  the  years  referred  to  in  the  last  chapters  of  these 
Memories  that  much  of  the  West  was  overswept  by 
a  tide  of  immigration,  and  a  new  population,  occupied 
with  new  and  personal  affairs,  came  into  the  country, 
and  by  their  numbers  overwhelmed  the  older  popula- 
tion, and  effaced  the  memory  of  a  multitude  of  the 
old  events. 

For  this  reason,  it  seemed  desirable  that  some  of 
Colonel  Pickett's  chapters  should  be  annotated  with 
some  fullness,  and  Colonel  Pickett  received  the  sug- 
gestion with  much  satisfaction  and  wholly  approved 
of  it. 

242 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

I  was  in  Montana  before,  during,  and  after  the 
years  described  by  Colonel  Pickett,  and  from  my  own 
knowledge  of  events,  and  with  the  help  of  others,  I 
have  been  able  to  add  to  Colonel  Pickett's  narrative 
certain  explanations  which  may  be  of  interest. 

T.  Elwood  ("Billy")  Hofer,  who  was  out  with 
Colonel  Pickett  for  one  or  more  seasons,  and  who 
spent  many  years  in  the  Yellowstone  National  Park, 
has  kindly  helped  me  with  a  number  of  suggestions 
bearing  on  events  of  more  than  thirty  years  ago. 


1876. 

1.  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln,  N.  D.,  was  established 
June  4,  1872,  by  Companies  B  and  C,  Sixth  Infantry, 
under    the    command    of    Lieutenant-Colonel    Daniel 
Huston,    Jr.      The    post    was    first    known    as    Fort 
McKeen.   The  name  was  changed  November  19,  1872. 

It  was  from  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln  that  General 
Stanley  set  out  in  1873  for  the  Yellowstone  Expe- 
dition, General  Custer  in  1874  for  the  Black  Hills 
Expedition,  and  again  in  1876  for  the  Yellowstone 
Expedition,  where  the  Seventh  Cavalry  was  almost 
annihilated.  Abandoned  September,  1891. 

2.  The  complete  story  of  the  Custer  fight  has  never 
been  written,  though  a  multitude  of  individual  articles 
have  appeared  which  describe  some  of  its  incidents. 
Of  all  this  literature,  the  best  account  is  that  written 

243 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

by  General  E.  S.  Godfrey,  and  published  in  the  Cen- 
tury Magazine  in  the  year  1892.  It  is  understood 
that  General  Godfrey  has  long  been  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  a  book  on  this  campaign,  and  when 
published,  this  book  is  likely  to  give  us  all  that  we 
shall  ever  know  about  the  destruction  of  the  old 
Seventh  Cavalry. 

3.  Missouri  River  Steamboat  and  Freight  Traffic. 
Steamboat  travel  on  the  Missouri  in  those  days  was 
slow,  and  sometimes  difficult.  The  boats  were  of  very 
shoal  draft  and  were  propelled  by  a  single  paddle 
wheel  at  the  stern.  When  the  water  of  the  river  was 
low,  the  vessel  was  constantly  running  on  newly  de- 
posited shoals  and  sand-bars,  for  the  channel  of  the 
river  changed  from  hour  to  hour.  For  this  reason, 
at  low  stages  of  water,  the  boats  usually  tied  up  dur- 
ing the  night. 

Each  vessel  was  rigged  with  two  long  spars  or 
poles,  one  at  either  side,  just  a  little  forward  of  amid- 
ships. One  end  of  each  spar  was  shod  with  iron, 
and  through  the  other,  or  through  a  pulley  attached 
to  it,  ran  a  rope,  one  end  of  which  was  fastened  to 
the  frame  of  the  boat,  while  the  other  end  was  free. 
If  the  vessel  ran  firmly  on  a  sand-bar  or  could  not 
find  a  passage  over  a  bar  that  seemed  to  block  the 
channel,  the  iron-shod  ends  of  the  spars  were  put 
overboard  and  rested  on  the  bottom — the  spars  stand- 
ing vertically — the  free  end  of  the  rope  was  put  about 
the  drum  of  a  donkey  engine  and  the  forward  end  of 
the  boat  was  thus  literally  lifted  up,  and  by  means 
of  the  sternwheel  propelled  forward,  until  the  bar 

244 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

was  passed.  If  the  bar  was  too  wide,  the  boat  was 
let  down  again  to  rest  on  the  bottom,  the  spars  were 
moved  forward  a  few  feet,  the  bow  was  lifted  up 
again,  and  the  pushing  by  the  sternwheel  renewed. 
In  that  way  the  steamboat  used  to  frequently  "walk" 
over  the  sand-bars.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to 
land  men  and  carry  forward  a  line  to  some  point  on 
the  bank  where  it  could  be  attached  to  a  tree  or  to  a 
post  set  in  the  ground — called  a  dead  man.  This  line 
was  then  put  about  the  drum  of  the  engine,  which 
pulled  on  the  line,  while  the  clumsy  wheel  pushed  be- 
hind. This  operation,  in  a  sense,  resembled  the  old- 
fashioned  cordelling,  where  a  number  of  men  marched 
along  the  river  bank  hauling  the  boat  up  against  the 
current  by  a  long  line.  The  donkey  engine,  which 
was  so  much  in  use  during  these  periods  of  low  water, 
was  called  the  "nigger." 

The  earlier  freight  traffic  up  the  Missouri  River 
was  by  means  of  keel  boats.  The  boatsmen  made 
their  way  up  the  stream  in  such  fashion  as  was  most 
convenient,  rowing,  poling  or  cordelling,  as  the  case 
might  be,  from  starting  point  to  finish.  Year  by  year 
the  steamboats  extended  their  journeys  from  St.  Louis 
further  and  further  up  the  great  river,  and  as  the 
journeys  of  the  steamboats  lengthened,  those  of  the 
keel  boats  grew  shorter,  though  the  mackinaws  were 
long  used  in  sending  furs  down  stream — with  the 
current.  General  Chittenden  says: 

"In  the  year  1831  the  first  serious  attempt  was  made 
to  navigate  with  steamboats  the  Upper  Missouri  River. 
The  steamer  Yellowstone  in  the  summer  of  that  year 
reached  Pierre,  the  site  of  the  present  capital  of  South 

245 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Dakota.  In  the  following  year  the  same  boat  reached 
Fort  Union  above  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  River. 
The  Assiniboine  followed  in  1833,  and  the  latter  boat 
in  1834  and  1835  reached  Poplar  Creek,  sixty  miles 
higher  up.  In  1850  the  mouth  of  Milk  River  was 
reached.  In  1858  the  Chippewa  was  built  with  special 
reference  to  the  difficulties  of  upper  river  navigation. 
She  was  a  sternwheel  boat  of  light  draught,  and  with 
her  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  thorough  trial  of  the  ex- 
treme upper  river.  The  attempt  was  successful.  The 
boat  reached  Fort  Brule,  twelve  miles  below  Benton, 
on  the  1 7th  of  July,  1859,  forty  years  and  three  months 
after  the  first  steamboat  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri.  On  July  2,  1860,  the  Chippewa  arrived  at 
Fort  Benton,  followed  a  few  hours  later  by  the  Spread 
Eagle.  In  July,  1868,  the  Tom  Stevens,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  high  water,  ascended  the  river  to  the 
mouth  of  Belt  Creek,  marking  the  highest  point 
reached  by  any  steamboat,  and  unquestionably  the 
most  distant  point  from  the  sea  which  a  large  vessel 
has  ever  yet  been  able  to  reach  by  a  continuous  water 
course.  This  point  lacks  but  a  few  miles  of  being 
four  thousand  miles  by  river  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  it  has  been  reached  by  a  single  river  unaided  by 
artificial  improvements." 

After  steamboat  travel  on  the  Missouri  had  been 
fully  established  and  become  commonplace,  the  boats 
pushed  as  far  up  the  river  as  they  could.  Many  of 
them  which  took  advantage  of  the  June  rise  reached 
Benton,  while  others  might  be  forced  to  stop  at  Cow 
Island;  or,  if  the  water  was  low,  at  Carroll.  From 
the  point  where  the  cargo  was  landed,  it  was  im- 

246 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

portant  that  it  should  reach  its  destination  as  soon 
as  possible,  whether  that  point  was  Benton  or  Alder 
Gulch,  which  we  now  know  as  Helena.  For  this  work 
many  freight  outfits  sprang  up.  The  "Diamond  R" 
<R>  was  organized  for  this  purpose  at  Fort  Benton 
by  John  C.  Rowe,  of  St.  Louis,  and  finally  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Montana  owners.  It  was  a  great  and 
well  organized  concern,  and  did  not  wholly  disappear 
until  the  railroad  had  begun  to  put  an  end  to  steam- 
boat traffic  on  the  Missouri. 

That  water  transportation  was  threatened  had  been 
long  foreseen,  yet  the  blow  did  not  really  fall  until 
the  year  1883,  when  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
was  completed.  When  the  Union  Pacific  reached 
Ogden  in  .1869,  a  freight  line  was  established  from 
that  point  to  Helena,  but  the  distance  was  too  great 
for  profit,  and  the  steamboats  on  the  river  still  carried 
most  of  the  freight.  Ten  years  later  the  narrow  gauge 
road — the  Utah  Northern  R.  R. — laid  its  tracks  north 
from  Utah,  entering  Montana  in  1880,  and  finally  the 
road,  which  is  now  the  Great  Northern,  gave  the 
last  blow  to  steamboating  on  the  Upper  Missouri. 

Up  to  that  time  Fort  Benton  had  been  the  greatest 
city  in  all  that  northwestern  country,  and  there  seemed 
every  promise  that  it  would  become  a  great  metropolis, 
but  with  the  advance  of  the  railroad  and  the  end  of 
steamboating  came  also  the  end  of  the  buffalo  and 
the  end  of  the  fur  trade,  on  which  the  existence  of 
Fort  Benton  then  depended.  Henceforth,  her  only 
hope  was  to  rank  high  as  an  agricultural  center. 

4.    F.ort  Stevenson,  N.  D.,  on  the  Missouri,  was 
247 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

established  June  22,  1867,  by  Companies  H  and  I, 
Thirty-first  Infantry,  under  the  command  of  Major 
N.  G.  Whistler.  It  was  abandoned  August  31,  1883, 
and  was  afterward  used  by  the  Indian  Department 
for  school  purposes  until  about  1903. 

5.  Fort  Berthold,  a  trading  post,  established  in  the 
year  1845,  an^  said  to  have  been  named  for  Bartholo- 
mew Berthold,  a  Tyrolese,  one  of  the  officials  of  the 
American  Fur  Company. 

6.  Ankara  Indians.     The  history  of  the  Arikaras 
is  a  long  one. 

The  French  fur  traders  knew  them  as  long  ago 
as  1770.  Lewis  and  Clark  met  them  in  1804,  when 
they  were  friendly  and  kindly  disposed,  but  in  1823 
some  of  them  attacked  the  boats  of  the  fur  trader 
Ashley,  killing  thirteen  men  and  wounding  others. 
Colonel  Leavenworth  was  sent  to  punish  them,  and 
after  some  trouble  a  peace  was  finally  concluded.  This 
fighting,  the  attacks  of  the  Sioux,  and  two  years  of 
crop  failures,  led  them  to  abandon  their  villages  on 
the  Missouri,  and  to  go  south  and  join  the  Skidi,  or 
Pawnee  Loups,  on  the  Loup  Fork  in  Nebraska.  They 
did  not  get  along  well  with  the  Skidi,  and  after  two 
years  were  requested  to  leave  them.  Some  of  them 
did  so,  but  probably  not  all. 

In  1835  the  Arikara — better  known  as  Rees — or 
some  of  them,  were  camped  near  the  forks  of  the 
Platte.  These  people,  whether  a  wandering  war  party 
from  the  Missouri,  or  a  section  of  the  tribe  living 
far  from  their  own  home,  were  apparently  at  enmity 

248 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

with  many  people.  They  were  accused  not  only  of 
taking  horses  from  the  Delawares,  but  even  of  steal- 
ing from  their  friends,  the  Comanches.  Some  of  them, 
however,  joined  in  expeditions  with  the  Pawnees  to 
make  peace  with  the  Cheyennes  and  the  Arapahoes. 

In  former  times  the  Cheyennes  had  been  on  terms 
of  friendship  with  the  Missouri  village  tribes,  Ari- 
kara,  Hidatsa  and  Mandans,  and  frequently  visited 
and  traded  with  them.  Colonel  Henry  Dodge  speaks 
of  this,  and  of  a  break  in  the  friendship  which  took 
place  a  little  later.  He  says: 

"The  Arikaras  were  formerly  on  very  friendly 
terms  with  the  Cheyennes  and  lived  with  them  for 
some  time;  after  the  Cheyennes  had  concluded  an 
alliance  with  the  Arepahas,  the  Arikaras  commenced 
stealing  their  horses.  Still  they  would  not  go  to 
war;  they  said  they  did  not  care  for  a  few  horses. 
The  Arikaras  soon  after  killed  several  whites  who 
were  trading  with  Arepahas.  They  then  determined 
to  declare  war  against  them,  and  soon  after  the  Are- 
pahas, meeting  a  war  party  of  twenty  or  thirty  Ari- 
karas who  were  coming  to  steal  their  horses,  they 
attacked  them  and  killed  them  all,  not  one  escaping. 
The  Cheyennes  soon  after  met  a  war  party  of  Ari- 
karas and  killed  them  all  except  one;  him  they  told 
to  go  home  and  tell  his  people  it  was  the  Cheyennes 
who  had  killed  the  party.  Since  that  period  they  have 
carried  on  a  predatory  warfare  until  the  present 
time/' 

After  this,  a  peace  was  made,  but  no  one  knows 
very  clearly  how  long  it  lasted.  The  Cheyennes  de- 
clare— White  Bull  being  my  informant — that  about 

249 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

1839  there  was  an  Arikara  village  on  the  Beaver  or 
Wolf  Creek  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  that  this 
village  was  attacked  by  southern  Indians — perhaps 
Kiowas,  Comanches  and  Apaches  or  Cheyennes — and 
all  its  inhabitants  killed.  On  the  other  hand,  for  many 
years  the  Cheyennes  lived  with  the  Rees  or  the  Man- 
dans,  the  latter  of  whom  they  called  Earth  Lodge 
People,  for  many  years.  Standing  All  Night,  a  Chey- 
enne, who  died  in  1869,  supposed  to  be  about  a  hun- 
dred years  old,  said  that  he  was  born  in  the  Mandan 
village,  and  that  a  great  many  of  his  people  lived 
there  in  earth  lodges,  and  in  all  their  habits  conformed 
to  the  Mandans.  At  all  events  their  relations  with 
the  Cheyennes,  fifty,  sixty  or  seventy  years  ago  were 
close.  To-day  there  are  many  Cheyenne  people  who 
have  Ree  blood  in  their  veins.  Two  Moon,  the  head 
chief,  is  half  Ree,  and  one  of  his  names  is  Roman 
Nosed  Ree.  There  are  now  living  among  the  North- 
ern Cheyennes  several  old  men  of  pure  Ree  blood. 
These  men  are  far  darker  in  color  than  the  people 
among  whom  they  are  living,  and  generally  the  Ari- 
karas  have  seemed  to  me  dark  enough  in  color  to 
justify  the  name  sometimes  given  to  them  of  Black 
Pawnee. 

The  last  report  of  their  numbers  gives  only  411 
Arikaras  at  the  Ft.  Berthold  Reservation. 

7.  Gros  Venires  Indians.  This  is  a  name  given  to 
two  different  and  unrelated  tribes  of  Indians — the 
Gros  Ventres  of  the  Village,  or  of  the  Missouri,  of 
Siouan  stock,  and  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairie,  or 
Atseha,  of  Algonquin  stock.  The  ones  here  referred 

250 


KHUDAI   KHILDI. 
(See   page  314.) 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

to  are  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Village  who  have  long 
been  associated  at  or  near  Fort  Berthold,  N.  D.,  with 
the  Mandan  and  Arikara.  These  are  a  section  of  the 
Crow  tribe,  but  the  separation  took  place  long  ago. 
They  are  now  very  few  in  number.  A  census  taken 
in  1910  gives  only  466. 

In  their  later  ways  of  life  they  closely  resembled 
the  Mandan  and  Arikara,  living  in  earth  lodges  and 
depending  for  support  largely  on  agriculture.  At 
present  their  numbers  are  about  stationary. 

8.  Bullboat.     The  Century  Dictionary  defines  a 
bullboat  as  a  shallow  crate,  covered  with  the  hide  of 
a  bull  elk — certainly  a  very  bad  definition.    The  bull- 
boats  used  on  the  upper  Missouri  up  to  the  time  of 
the  disappearance  of  the  buffalo  there  were  deep  bowl- 
shaped   craft,   covered,   as   Colonel   Pickett  remarks, 
with  buffalo  hide  stretched  over  a  frame  of  willow 
twigs.    The  bullboat  was  not  used  for  traveling,  but 
for   transporting   articles — one   might   say   freight   if 
this  term  could  be  used  about  the  possessions  of  In- 
dians— across  the  Missouri  River.     The  woman  who 
paddled  it  plunged  the  paddle  into  the  water  as  far 
as  possible  ahead  of  the  boat,  and  drew  the  paddle 
toward  herself.     Progress  was  slow,  but  the  women 
became   skillful   in   managing   these   craft,   and  they 
were  extremely  useful  to  the  Village — Fort  Berthold 
— Indians. 

9.  Woodyards.    In  the  old  days  of  steamboat  travel 
on  the  Upper  Missouri,  fuel  for  the  engines  was  ob- 
tained   at    woodyards,    so-called.     These    woodyards 

251 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

were  commonly  on  points  or  bottoms  where  there  was 
a  good  growth  of  cottonwood  timber,  and  their  estab- 
lishment by  woodchoppers  was  speculative.  In  winter 
or  early  spring  two  or  three  men  would  go  to  this 
place,  chop  many  cords  of  wood  and  pile  it  at  a  con- 
venient landing  place,  in  the  hope  of  selling  it  to  the 
steamboats  at  a  good  price  during  the  following  sum- 
mer. The  men  who  engaged  in  this  business  were 
commonly  known  as  "wood-hawks."  They  led  lives 
of  adventure  and  often  of  considerable  danger.  Hos- 
tile Indians — and  in  those  days  all  Indians  were  hos- 
tile— were  likely  at  any  time  to  discover  the  location 
of  these  "wood-hawks"  and  to  try  to  kill  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  "wood-hawks"  were  aware  of 
their  danger  and  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  Indian 
sign.  Often  they  were  provided  with  field  glasses, 
and  often  they  made  a  business  of  proceeding  each 
day  by  some  safe  route  to  a  high  lookout  point  from 
which  the  neighboring  country  might  be  viewed. 
Still,  these  men  were  occasionally  killed,  and  an 
occasion  is  recalled  when  six  men,  who  had  started 
out  to  do  this  work,  were  not  heard  of  again  until 
some  traveler  along  the  river  found  their  dead  bodies 
and  their  half  burned  cabin. 

10.  Fort  Buford  was  a  military  post  at  the  site  of 
old  Fort  Union  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  River. 
It  was  established  June  13,  1866.  Fort  Union,  accord- 
ing to  Maximilian,  was  begun  in  1829.  It  was  a  large 
post,  said  by  Chittenden  to  have  been  240  x  220  feet, 
the  shorter  side  facing  the  river,  and  was  surrounded 
by  a  palisade  of  squared  logs  about  a  foot  thick  and 

252 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

20  feet  high.  The  bastions  were  at  the  southwest  and 
northwest  corners,  and  were  square  houses  24  feet 
to  the  side  and  30  feet  high.  They  were  built  of 
stone  in  two  stories,  the  lower  pierced  for  cannon, 
while  the  upper  had  a  balcony.  Across  the  square 
from  the  entrance  stood  the  house  of  the  bourgeois. 
Around  the  square  were  the  houses  for  the  employees, 
the  storehouses,  workshops,  stables,  a  powder  maga- 
zine and  a  reception  room  for  the  Indians.  In  the 
midst  of  the  square  was  a  flagstaff,  and  clustered 
about  this  were  the  lodges  of  some  of  the  employees. 
Cannon  directed  toward  the  entrance  of  the  fort  stood 
near  the  flagstaff. 

Fort  Union  was  visited  by  Maximilian,  Catlin  and 
Audubon,  the  latter  in  1843.  He  gives  in  his  journal 
— Audubon  and  His  Journals,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  180 — an 
elaborate  description  of  the  fort.  Among  the  old- 
time  bourgeois  of  this  post  were  Mackenzie,  James 
Kipp  and  Alexander  Culbertson.  Joseph  Kipp,  a  well- 
known  resident  of  Northwestern  Montana,  was  at 
Fort  Union  as  a  boy  for  many  years.  His  father  was 
James  Kipp  and  his  mother  a  Mandan  woman. 

11.  Assiniboine  Indians.  The  Assiniboines,  or 
"stone  boilers"  as  they  used  to  be  called,  are  the 
northernmost  tribe  of  the  Sioux,  or  Dakota.  The 
name  by  which  they  are  called  comes  from  two  Chip- 
pewa  words,  u  sin'i  or  a  sin'  i,  and  a  pwaw'a,  he 
cooks  with  or  by  stones.  The  reference  is  obviously 
to  the  boiling  of  food  by  the  use  of  hot  stones,  a 
practice  which  was,  of  course,  common  over  much 
of  the  continent,  and  in  which  the  Assiniboines  were 

253 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

by  no  means  peculiar.  The  Assiniboines  separated 
from  the  Sioux  before — probably  a  long  time  before 
— the  coming  of  the  whites,  and  moved  north  and 
joined  the  Crees,  living  about  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
and  Lake  Winnipeg.  Alexander  Henry  was  one  of 
the  early  white  men  to  visit  camps  of  the  plains 
Assiniboines  in  1775,  and  at  that  time  the  people  there 
were  so  little  familiar  with  white  men  that  women 
and  children  followed  the  traders  about  the  camp, 
staring  at  them  with  the  greatest  curiosity.  The  As- 
siniboines were  formerly  regarded  as  one  of  the  last 
tribes  of  the  north  to  have  procured  horses.  They 
.were  reported  to  declare  that  they  did  not  want  horses, 
which  were  only  a  trouble  to  them,  as  well  as  a 
danger.  Horses,  they  said,  constantly  wandered  away 
and  had  to  be  sought  for,  and  were  a  continual  temp- 
tation to  their  enemies  to  attack  them.  They  pre- 
ferred dogs,  which  were  as  useful  as  beasts  of  burden, 
and  always  remained  with  their  owners,  instead  of 
running  away.  I  saw  the  dog  travois  in  use  among 
them  as  late  as  1895. 

i.  The  Assiniboines  in  the  United  States  are  chiefly 
on  the  Missouri  River  near  the  mouth  of  Milk  River, 
and  at  the  Little  Rocky  Mountains  in  Montana.  In 
Canada  there  are  a  number  of  small  groups  on  streams 
of  the  plains,  and  a  considerable  settlement  at  Morley, 
Alberta,  known  as  Stoney  Indians.  In  fact,  this  is 
the  common  name  for  the  Assiniboines  in  Canada. 

12.  Major  Mitchell.  Thomas  J.  Mitchell,  of 
Illinois,  was  appointed  agent  for  the  Indians  of  the 
Milk  River  Agency  (Fort  Peck)  in  Montana,  Jan- 

254 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

uary  22,  1^76,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  June 
22,  1877. 

13.  This  black  paint  of  course  meant  that  the  war- 
rior had  been  one  of  a  war  party  which  had  killed 
enemies. 

14.  Red  River  Half  breeds.     In   1910  I  wrote  a 
brief  account  of  these  people,  from  which  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  are  taken: 

Scattered  about  as  individuals  or  families,  the  Red 
River  halfbreeds  were  inconspicuous  and  of  no  im- 
portance. By  the  more  staid  and  methodical  people 
of  Anglo-Saxon  blood,  they  were  thought  of  with 
more  or  less  contempt  by  reason  of  their  volatile 
nature  and  their  disinclination  for  settled  habits.  But, 
gathered  together  in  a  great  camp  moving  toward  the 
buffalo,  or  in  the  buffalo  country,  they  were  impres- 
sive because  as  a  community  they  were  unlike  any 
of  the  great  camps  of  the  people  whose  blood  flowed 
in  their  veins.  In  some  degree  they  possessed  the 
caution  and  foresightedness  of  their  Caucasian  ances- 
tors, but  with  this  was  united  the  keenness  of  obser- 
vation, the  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  animals  and 
generally  of  the  processes  of  nature  which  they  in- 
herited from  their  savage  mothers. 

Little  more  than  half  a  century  witnessed  the  be- 
ginning and  the  ending  of  the  great  halfbreed  camp, 
but  during  the  short  time  that  they  were,  or  seemed 
to  be,  a  people  or  tribe  by  themselves,  they  were  well 
worth  studying.  They  were  friendly  and  kindly  in 
their  nature,  usually  on  good  terms  with  white 

255 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

travelers  and  Indians  alike;  though  to  be  sure  occas- 
ionally attempts  at  horse  stealing  by  the  Indians  re- 
sulted in  a  collision  with  those  people,  but  this  was 
unusual.  Yet  it  is  stated  that  once,  in  the  summer 
of  1851,  they  were  attacked  by  1,000  Yankton  Sioux, 
when,  after  a  long  fight  behind  their  breastworks, 
the  halfbreeds  beat  off  the  Indians. 

The  Red  River  halfbreeds  were  more  or  less  no- 
madic, dwelling  at  least  for  a  part  of  the  year  in 
tents,  and  in  many  respects  living  much  like  the  In- 
dians whose  blood  they  shared.  The  children  of  em- 
ployees of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  by  Indian 
mothers,  two  classes  were  recognized;  the  French 
halfbreeds  and  the  English  halfbreeds.  Their  Celtic 
blood  often  hurried  the  French  section  into  acts  hos- 
tile to  the  Government,  or  to  the  fur  company,  and 
in  some  cases  led  to  actual  rebellion.  The  last  of 
these  outbreaks  took  place  in  1883,  and  was  partici- 
pated in  by  a  number  of  simple  Indians  over  whom 
the  halfbreeds  had  much  influence.  Following  the 
putting  down  of  this,  which  from  its  leader  was  called 
the  second  Riel  rebellion,  Riel  was  hanged,  as  were 
also  some  of  the  Indians. 

Each  spring  the  French  halfbreeds  gathered  at  the 
fort — Fort  Garry — for  their  long  journey  to  the  plains, 
where  they  killed  great  numbers  of  buffalo,  drying 
the  meat  and  making  pemmican  for  sale  and  for 
winter  subsistence,  and  the  women  dressing  the  hides, 
which  were  sold  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  hunting  grounds  of  the  Red  River  halfbreeds 
extended  from  the  Saskatchewan  on  the  north,  south- 
ward sometimes  as  far  as  the  Yellowstone  River. 

256 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

They  followed  the  buffalo  wherever  they  were,  and 
with  them  took  their  whole  families  and  all  their 
worldly  possessions,  transported  in  the  famous  Red 
River  carts.  Usually  they  made  their  start  about  the 
1 5th  of  June,  a  part  going  from  the  Red  River  settle- 
ment and  another  part  from  the  White  Horse  Plain 
on  the  Assiniboine.  Once  these  bands  traveled  to- 
gether, but  differences  sprang  up  among  them,  and 
between  1850  and  1857  they  hunted  apart. 

Sometimes  the  halfbreeds  were  absolutely  improvi- 
dent and  thoughtless  of  the  future.  Often  they  made 
surrounds  and  killed  buffalo  purely  for  the  love  of 
killing,  taking  nothing  but  the  skins  and  tongues, 
and  not  recognizing  that  this  great  destruction  of  the 
buffalo  must  sooner  or  later  react  upon  themselves. 

While  often  they  rioted  in  plenty,  having  more  food 
than  it  was  possible  to  consume,  at  other  times  they 
suffered  from  hunger.  If  buffalo  could  not  be  found, 
provisions  became  scarce;  children  cried  with  hunger 
and  all  complained  of  the  lack  of  food.  It  was  a 
feast  or  a  famine. 

Sometimes,  too,  they  lost  their  animals.  The  horses 
strayed  away  or  the  oxen  that  belonged  in  the  camp 
took  the  back  trail  and  had  to  be  searched  for  at  great 
loss  of  time. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  hunting,  their  industry 
was  very  great.  They  had  a  splendid  organization; 
they  were  at  peace  with  all  the  Indians  of  the  plains, 
who  in  early  days  neither  wished  nor  dared  to  attack 
them.  The  approach  of  a  hostile  party  to  the  half- 
breed  camp  meant  merely  the  withdrawal  of  the  half- 
breeds  within  the  circle  of  their  lodges,  and  the  turn- 

257 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ing  up  of  carts  on  their  sides  to  make  breastworks 
behind  which  to  fight.  The  Indians  of  those  days 
had  few  guns  or  none,  and  scarcely  ever  attacked 
them,  except  as  already  explained. 

When  the  buffalo  were  found,  if  the  situation  was 
favorable,  a  surround  was  made,  but  on  the  other 
hand  sometimes  the  buffalo  were  on  the  flat  prairie, 
in  which  case  it  was  necessary  to  approach  them 
openly,  and  the  horsemen  could  not  get  nearer  than 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  before  the  buffalo  started. 
Then,  if  it  was  spring  and  the  horses  were  thin  and 
weak,  a  long  chase  was  required  to  overtake  the  buf- 
falo, and  sometimes  they  might  not  be  overtaken  at 
all.  If  the  horses  were  weak  and  the  buffalo  were 
in  such  a  position  that  there  was  danger  that  they 
might  escape  without  being  overtaken,  the  chiefs 
would  sometimes  send  out  two  men  to  approach  the 
buffalo  gradually  from  one  side,  and  starting  them 
slowly  to  bring  them  close  to  the  camp.  The  young 
men  rode  at  a  walk  or  a  trot  parallel  to  the  direction 
in  which  the  buffalo  were  headed,  and  before  long 
the  buffalo  began  to  trot  and  then  perhaps  to  gallop. 

If,  riding  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  herd,  the 
men  wished  to  turn  them  to  the  right,  they  drew 
away  from  them  to  a  greater  distance.  If  they  wished 
to  turn  them  to  the  left,  they  directed  their  course 
more  toward  the  herd,  which  then  in  turn  bent  its 
course  toward  the  riders,  as  if  trying  to  cross  in  front 
of  them.  By  this  method  of  riding,  the  buffalo  could 
often  be  drawn  some  miles  in  one  direction  or  the 
other,  and  toward  the  waiting  and  concealed  hunters. 

On  favorable  ground,  when  a  successful  approach 
258 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

was  made,  the  buffalo,  with  tails  on  end,  rushed  off 
in  headlong  flight.  Presently  the  swiftest  horses  be- 
gan to  overtake  them  and  to  disappear  in  the  dust 
kicked  up  by  the  flying  herd.  The  noise  and  confus- 
ion caused  by  the  running  animals  was  astonishing. 
A  thick  cloud  of  dust  hung  over  the  scene,  the  air 
was  full  of  pebbles  and  sand  kicked  up  by  the  hurry- 
ing feet,  shots  began  to  be  heard,  and  presently  the 
prairie  was  strewn  with  brown  bodies. 

In  such  a  race  the  men  rode  their  best  horses,  trained 
buffalo  runners,  as  experienced  as  their  masters  in 
picking  out  the  best  cows,  in  avoiding  the  holes  and 
obstacles  which  lay  everywhere  on  the  prairie,  in 
avoiding  also  the  charge  of  angry  animals  that  they 
overtook  and  passed.  Really,  the  experienced  rider 
paid  no  attention  to  his  horse  and  merely  loaded,  fired 
and  reloaded  until  the  chase  was  over.  Practically 
all  these  men  used  muzzleloading  flintlock  guns.  Their 
balls  they  carried  in  their  mouths,  the  powder  was  in 
a  cowhorn  hung  under  the  right  arm.  They  loaded 
on  the  run,  spat  a  ball  into  the  muzzle,  jarred  the  gun 
stock  on  the  saddle  or  with  the  hand,  threw  some 
priming  into  the  pan,  and  fired.  Accidents  were  fre- 
quent. Horses  fell  or  were  caught  by  cows  and  killed, 
guns  burst,  sometimes  men  were  shot.  By  bursting 
guns  men  lost  hands,  arms  and  sometimes  even  lives, 
and  Indian  hunters  have  told  me  of  men  falling  from 
their  horses  in  such  a  way  that  whipstocks,  arrows, 
bows  and  even  guns  were  driven  through  their  bodies. 

Besides  r?ie  dangers  of  the  actual  chase  there  was 
always  a  chance  that  a  hunter  separated  from  his  own 
people,  working  off  to  one  side  or  in  some  concealed 

259 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

place,  might  be  attacked  by  Indians  who,  of  course,  at 
that  time  were  eager  for  the  guns  which  all  the  half- 
breeds  possessed. 

The  hunter's  horse  drew  up  close  to  the  buffalo,  not 
more  than  two  or  three  yards  from  it,  and  the  shot 
was  fired  as  the  gun  dropped  to  the  level.  The  well- 
trained  horse  swerved  away  from  the  buffalo  at  the 
shot,  and  the  man,  prepared  for  the  change  of  direc- 
tion, at  once  began  to  reload.  When  the  chase  was 
over,  the  hunters  returned  over  the  buffalo-strewn 
prairie  to  identify  the  animals  that  each  had  killed. 
This  was  a  matter  of  long  practice,  and  an  outdoor 
man  can  well  understand  how  it  was  done. 

Alex.  Ross  once  asked  a  hunter  how  it  was  possible 
that  each  could  know  his  own  animal  in  such  a  me- 
lange? He  answered,  by  putting  a  question  remark- 
able for  its  appropriate  ingenuity,  "Suppose,"  said  he, 
"that  four  hundred  learned  persons  all  wrote  words 
here  and  there  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper,  would  not 
the  fact  be  that  each  scholar  would  point  out  his  own 
hand  writing?"  It  is  true  that  practice  makes  per- 
fect, but  with  all  the  perfection  experience  can  give, 
much  praise  is  due  to  the  observation  of  these  people, 
quarrels  being  rare  among  them  on  such  occasions. 

Soon  after  the  hunters  had  left  the  camp,  the  women 
started  out  with  the  carts  to  bring  in  the  meat.  Prob- 
ably by  the  time  they  reached  the  killing  ground,  the 
men  had  returned  and  were  hard  at  work  skinning 
and  cutting  up  the  meat.  The  hunters  worked  back, 
skinning  first  the  animals  that  they  had  last  killed  and 
coming  the  last  of  all  to  those  first  shot  down. 

The  appearance  of  these  hunters,  now  finishing  up 
260 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

their  day's  work  by  skinning  and  butchering  their 
animals,  was  extraordinary.  Covered  with  dust  and 
sweat,  black  from  the  flying  gunpowder,  bloody  up 
to  the  elbows,  their  faces  streaked  and  smeared  with 
blood  and  grease  as  they  brushed  the  long  hair  out 
of  their  faces,  they  presented  an  extraordinary  spec- 
tacle of  ferocity,  which  their  unfailing  good  nature 
and  merry  laughter  and  jest  wholly  belied. 

After  the  meat  and  hides  had  been  brought  into 
camp,  they  were  attended  to  by  the  women  after  the 
ordinary  Indian  fashion.  The  meat  was  cut  into  thin 
flakes  and  dried  in  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  if  the 
weather  forbade  this,  hung  up  on  scaffolds  inside  the 
lodges.  The  fat  was  saved  and  dried,  the  bones 
pounded  up  and  boiled,  and  the  fat  skimmed  off  and 
placed  in  bladders. 

The  halfbreed  of  the  middle  of  the  last  century  was 
an  excellent  hunter,  a  splendid  plainsman  and  able  to 
support  himself  and  his  family  on  the  prairie  under 
the  most  adverse  conditions,  but  he  was  a  slow  and 
reluctant  husbandman.  Coming  of  two  races,  one  of 
which,  though  capable  of  long  continued  and  most 
arduous  effort  and  endurance  of  hardship,  had  never 
been  accustomed  to  steady  and  continuous  labor,  he 
was  willing  to  work  until  he  dropped  at  occupations 
which  he  enjoyed,  but  not  at  all  disposed  to  tasks  he 
regarded  as  irksome. 

It  was  between  1850  and  1870  that  the  Red  River 
halfbreeds  attained  their  greatest  fame  as  buffalo 
hunters,  but  when  in  1883  the  buffalo  disappeared, 
these  hunters  found  their  occupation  gone,  and  knew 
not  to  what  to  turn  to  gain  a  livelihood.  No  doubt 

261 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  disappearance  of  the  buffalo  had  much  to  do  with 
the  working  up  of  the  last  Kiel  rebellion,  and  after 
that  failed,  the  Red  River  halfbreeds  as  a  camp  ceased 
to  exist.  Many  of  them  fled  over  the  border  into  the 
United  States  and  remained  there,  some  taking  up 
ranches  and  becoming  useful  citizens,  others  remain- 
ing nomads,  traveling  about  with  wagons  which  con- 
tained all  their  possessions,  and  from  the  ends  of 
each  of  which  protruded  the  family  lodge  poles.  They 
camped  where  night  found  them,  and  lived  as  best 
they  could.  Others  no  doubt  took  up  land  in  Canada, 
and  being  obliged  to  settle  down  and  to  remain  in  one 
place,  became  useful  citizens  of  the  Western  Provinces 
of  the  Dominion. 

The  Red  River  halfbreed  has  passed  away  forever. 
With  his  picturesque  lodge,  his  complaining  cart,  his 
troop  of  dogs,  his  wife  and  daughters  clad  in  silks, 
which  were  stained  with  buffalo  grease  and  soiled 
with  the  dust  of  the  prairie,  he  remains  but  a  memory. 

15.  Pemmican,  under  one  name  or  another,  was 
a  compact  form  of  nourishment,  made  by  most  of  the 
prairie  Indians.  A  warrior  setting  out  on  foot  to 
make  a  long  journey  into  some  enemy's  country  often 
had  the  many  pairs  of  extra  moccasins  that  he  carried 
stuffed  with  pemmican,  or,  if  not  with  pemmican, 
with  pounded  dried  meat. 

Among  the  Sioux  and  the  Cheyennes  who  did  not 
make  pemmican  in  such  quantities  as  did  the  more 
northern  Indians,  the  dried  meat  was  often  pounded 
with  a  small  hammer  on  a  smooth  stone  anvil.  This 
anvil  stood  in  the  middle  of  an  oblong  or  circular 

262 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

piece  of  rawhide,  on  which  the  pounded  shreds  of 
meat  fell,  to  be  gathered  up  from  time  to  time,  and 
put  in  a  sack. 

As  made  by  the  Northern  Blackfeet,  "The  meat  was 
dried  in  the  usual  way,  and  for  this  use  only  lean  meat, 
such  as  the  hams,  loins  and  shoulders  was  chosen. 
When  the  time  came  for  making  the  pemmican,  two 
large  fires  were  built  of  dry  quaking  aspen  wood,  and 
these  were  allowed  to  burn  down  to  red  coals.  The 
old  women  brought  the  dried  meat  to  these  fires  and 
the  sheets  of  meat  were  thrown  on  the  coals  of  one 
of  them,  allowed  to  heat  through,  turned  to  keep  them 
from  burning,  and  then  thrown  on  the  flesh  side  of 
a  dry  hide  that  lay  on  the  ground  nearby.  After  a 
time  the  roasting  of  this  dried  meat  caused  a  smoke 
to  rise  from  the  fire  in  use,  which  gave  the  meat  a 
bitter  taste  if  cooked  on  it.  They  then  turned  to  the 
other  fire,  and  used  that  until  the  first  one  had  burned 
clear  again.  After  enough  of  the  roasted  meat  had 
been  thrown  on  the  hide,  it  was  flailed  out  with  sticks, 
and  being  very  brittle,  was  easily  broken  up  and  made 
small.  It  was  constantly  stirred  and  pounded  until 
it  was  all  fine.  Meantime,  the  tallow  of  the  buffalo 
had  been  melted  in  a  large  kettle  and  the  pemmican 
bags  prepared.  These  were  made  of  bull's  hide  and 
were  in  two  pieces  cut  oblong,  and  with  the  corners 
rounded  off.  Two  such  pieces  sewn  together  made 
a  bag  which  would  hold  a  hundred  pounds.  The 
pounded  meat  and  tallow — the  latter  just  beginning  to 
cool — were  put  in  a  trough  made  of  bull's  hide,  a 
wooden  spade  being  used  to  stir  the  mixture.  After 
it  was  thoroughly  mixed,  it  was  shoveled  into  one  of 

263 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  sacks  held  open,  and  rammed  down  and  packed 
tight  with  a  big  stick,  every  effort  being  made  to  ex- 
pel all  the  air.  When  the  bag  was  full  and  packed 
as  tight  as  possible,  it  was  sewn  up.  It  was  then  put 
on  the  ground,  and  the  women  jumped  on  it  to  make 
it  still  more  tight  and  solid.  It  was  then  laid  away 
in  the  sun  to  cool  and  dry.  It  usually  took  the  meat 
of  two  cows  to  make  a  bag  of  one  hundred  pounds; 
a  very  large  bull  might  make  a  sack  of  from  eighty 
to  a  hundred  pounds. 

"A  much  finer  grade  of  pemmican  was  made  from 
the  choice  parts  of  the  buffalo  with  marrow  fat.  To 
this  dried  berries  and  pounded  choke  cherries  were 
added,  making  a  delicious  food  which  was  extremely 
nutritious.  Pemmican  was  eaten  either  dry  as  it  came 
from  the  sack  or  stewed  with  water."  Blackfoot 
Lodge  Tales,  p.  206. 

The  word  pemmican  comes  from  the  Cree  language, 
the  original  term  being  pimikan,  which  is  said  by  some 
to  mean  a  bag  full  of  grease  and  pounded  meat,  or 
by  others  to  mean,  manufactured  grease.  The  root  is 
pimu  or  pimiy,  which  means  grease.  The  work  of 
collecting  grease  by  pounding  up  the  bones  of  animals 
into  small  pieces,  boiling  them  and  skimming  off  the 
grease,  which  was  then  put  in  a  vessel  to  cool,  in 
primitive  days  occupied  much  of  the  time  of  old 
women. 

This  is  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  Indian  words 
which  have  been  adopted  into  the  English  as  spoken 
in  the  United  States. 

16.     Dr.   Southworth.     Dr.  John  W.   Southworth 
264 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

was  physician  at  the  Fort  Peck  Agency  from  July  I, 
1876,  to  June  22,  1877.  Nothing  is  known  of  him 
or  of  Major  Mitchell  since  they  left  the  Indian  ser- 
vice. 

17.  White  Beaver  Creek.     Tributary  of  Yellow- 
stone  from   the   north,   lying   chiefly   in   the   eastern 
part  of  Sweet  Grass  county,  Montana. 

18.  Burial  Scaffolds.     The  platforms  were  com- 
monly formed  of  long  willow  twigs  strung  together 
on  sinews,  and   supported  beneath  by  two  or  three 
poles  running  at  right  angles  to  the  twigs  or  length- 
ways of  the  body.    These  are  made  in  the  same  fashion 
as  back-rests  or  sleeping  mattresses.    These  platforms 
were   sometimes   placed   in  trees   or   were   lashed   to 
four  upright  poles  on  the  prairie. 

Good  figures  of  the  Dakota  burial  platforms,  taken 
from  Yarrow's  Mortuary  Customs,  may  be  found  in 
Bull.  30  of  the  Bureau  of  Amer.  Eth.,  p.  940. 

The  mortuary  customs  of  the  Indians  were  very 
various,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  country  there 
were  different  practices.  Thus  we  have  stone  graves 
made  of  slabs  of  flat  stone,  arranged  in  box-like  form ; 
we  have  mummies  from  Alaska  and  from  the  dry 
southwest;  in  portions  of  the  northwest  cremation 
was  practiced,  the  ashes  sometimes  being  kept  in  urns 
and  sometimes  being  scattered,  and  besides  there  is 
the  aerial  sepulcher  described  by  the  author  and  also 
aquatic  burial.  Besides  that,  the  dead  were  often  put 
on  tops  of  hills,  not  covered  over  at  all,  or  on  hills, 
with  stones  piled  over  them.  The  whole  subject  has 

26.-? 


'Hunting  at  High  Altitude* 

been  quite  fully  treated  by  Dr.  H.  C.  Yarrow  in  his 
paper  on  Mortuary  Customs,  published  as  part  of  the 
First  Annual  Report  of  the  Bur.of  Amer.  Ethn.  in  1881. 
The  Indians  of  the  plains  had  no  foolish  prejudices 
against  being  eaten  by  animals.  Brave  men  often 
expressed  the  hope  that  when  they  died  their  bodies 
might  be  left  out  on  the  prairie  where  the  birds  and 
the  animals  might  feed  on  them,  and  they  might  thus 
be  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  prairie.  (See 
Pawnee  Hero  Stories  and  Folk  Tales,  p.  46.) 

19.  George  Clendenin,  Jr.,  the  son  of  George  Clen- 
denin,  was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  about  1843-44. 
His  father  was  an  old  soldier,  after  the  Civil  War  in 
charge  of  the  Rock  Creek  Cemetery  near  Washington. 

Colonel  Clendenin  came  to  Montana  in  1869  or  1870 
and  to  Fort  Benton  in  1870.  He  was  a  man  of  high 
ideals,  who  believed  that  he  could  make  money  in 
trading  with  Indians  without  carrying  a  stock  of 
liquor.  He  purchased  from  T.  C.  Power  &  Bro.  a 
stock  of  goods  for  Indian  trade  and  established  a 
trading  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell.  In  1871 
he  sold  to  L.  M.  Black  an  interest  in  the  business,  and 
T.  C.  Power  retired.  The  fact  probably  is  that  Power 
furnished  the  goods  on  credit  and  Black  took  his  in- 
terest, though  the  business  was  probably  done  in  Clen- 
denin's  name.  In  the  spring  of  1872  Black  brought 
a  suit  for  dissolution  of  the  copartnership,  and  the 
litigation  continued  until  1877.  Clendenin  took  his 
stock  of  goods  from  Benton  down  the  river  in  Macki- 
naw boats.  The  concern's  chief  trade  was  for  buffalo 
robes. 

266 


IVAN  WITH  ROEBUCK  HEADS. 
(See   page  314.) 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

After  the  Indian  trade  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mussel- 
shell  had  proved  unsatisfactory,  Clendenin  bought  out 
Black  and  moved  his  stock  of  goods  up  the  Missouri 
River  to  Carroll.  He  traded  there  for  three  or  four 
years,  after  1874,  before  closing  out.  It  is  my  im- 
pression that  in  the  year  1875  ne  nad  a  small  trading 
post  with  a  very  slight  stock  of  goods  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Judith  River,  which  he  called  Fort  Claggett.  This 
was  to  catch  the  trade  of  the  wandering  Gros  Ventres 
of  the  Prairie,  with  whom  the  lower  valley  of  the 
Judith  was  a  favorite  camping  place. 

After  closing  out  the  business  at  Musselshell,  Clen- 
denin became  interested  in  the  Barker  Mining  District 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  Cascade  County,  Montana, 
and  built  there  a  smelter  in  which  Power  and  others 
were  interested.  Clendenin  was  interested  in  the 
mines  of  this  section  and  operated  one  known  as  the 
Clendenin  Lode.  While  he  was  inspecting  this  in 
company  with  Louis  Heitman  and  others,  in  1882,  a 
tunnel  caved  in  and  killed  him. 

20.  John  J.  Healy  was  for  many  years  a  noted 
character  in  Ft.  Benton  and  the  country  to  the  North. 
He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  who  as  a  young  man 
had  enlisted  as  a  soldier  and  been  stationed  in  the 
West.  After  his  discharge  he  mined  and  traded,  and 
worked  in  Northern  Montana,  where  he  was  most 
highly  respected  and  very  successful.  He  it  was  who 
organized  the  famous  Ispitsi  Cavalry,  and  who  kept 
order  in  that  northern  country  until  the  Northwest 
Mounted  Police  came  into  it.  After  a  time  Montana 
and  Alberta  became  too  crowded  for  Healy,  and  he 

267 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

went  to  Alaska,  where  at  once  he  impressed  his  fel- 
lows as  he  had  done  in  Montana.  He  died  only  two 
or  three  years  ago.  He  was  a  man  whose  life  should 
have  been  written,  and  it  was  hoped  that  this  task 
would  have  been  undertaken  by  Edwin  Tappen  Adney, 
of  Nova  Scotia. 

"Johnny"  Healy  feared  neither  man  nor  devil ;  and 
to  this  day  stories  of  his  daring  linger  in  the  northern 
country. 

21.  The  destruction  of  big  game  for  the  hides, 
which  was  taking  place  in  1876,  is  hardly  to  be  com- 
prehended by  those  who  did  not  see  what  was  going 
on  in  those  early  years.  Buffalo,  elk,  mule  deer,  and 
antelope  were  slaughtered  by  thousands  without  re- 
gard to  age  or  sex  or  season,  and  of  the  vast  majority 
of  the  animals  killed,  only  the  hide  was  taken.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1874-1875  it  was  estimated  that  in 
the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone,  between  the  mouth  of 
Trail  Creek  and  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  not  less 
than  3,000  elk  were  killed  for  their  hides  alone.  Buf- 
falo, mule  deer,  and  antelope  suffered  as  much  or 
more  than  the  elk.  Travelers  through  Montana  terri- 
tory in  the  summer  of  1875  constantly  came  on  places 
where  buffalo  carcasses  were  strewn  everywhere,  and 
it  was  common  to  pass  a  skin-hunting  outfit,  whose 
wagons  were  piled  with  the  flat,  dried  hides  of  deer, 
elk,  antelope  and  sheep,  as  high  as  a  load  of  hay. 
This  went  on,  as  has  been  said,  all  through  the  year, 
and  the  females  of  these  hoofed  animals  were  as 
readily  killed  in  spring  or  summer  as  at  any  other 
time.  Owing  to  the  sparse  settlement  of  the  country 

268 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

and  the  enormous  abundance  of  game  animals,  the 
destruction  was  beyond  belief. 

At  certain  points  near  army  posts,  efforts  were  made 
by  officers  to  drive  skin  hunters  away,  and  often  with 
success,  and  the  general  sentiment  of  the  better  class 
of  frontiersmen  was  against  the  butchery.  ,  The  game 
laws  of  the  territory  existed  only  on  the  statute  books, 
and  people  generally  were  not  sufficiently  interested 
to  make  any  effort  to  have  the  laws  enforced.  They 
were  not  supported  by  public  sentiment.  The  result 
of  this  slaughter  was  that  the  game  passed  out  of 
existence. 

22.  Ft.  Benton.  This  famous  trading  post  was 
built  by  the  American  Fur  Co.  about  1846.  It  had 
predecessors  in  the  neighborhood,  Ft.  Mackenzie  and 
Ft.  Brule.  It  was  long  the  most  famous  of  the  fur 
trading  posts,  partly  because  it  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  navigation  on  the  Missouri  River.  Fort  Benton, 
like  others  of  the  sod  and  adobe  forts,  finally  went  to 
ruin  under  the  weather,  and  little  of  it  now  remains. 


1877. 

23,  Nez  Perce   War.     Much  literature  has  been 
printed  on  this  subject,  but  a  good  brief  account,  so 
far  as  the   Yellowstone   Park  is   concerned,   will   be 
found  in  General  Chittenden's  book.    See  Note  28. 

24.  While  perhaps  the  killing  of  the  Nez  Perces 
women    may   have    had    something   to    do   with    the 
changed  attitude  of  the  warriors  of  the  tribe,  it  is 

269 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

believed  that  the  real  cause  of  their  bitterness  was 
the  fact  that  a  number  of  the  Nez  Perces'  dead  were 
scalped  by  Howard's  troops.  There  has  been  some 
controversy  as  to  how  this  came  to  be  done.  Cer- 
tainly it  was  against  the  orders  issued  by  General 
Howard.  Very  likely  the  scalps  were  taken  by  the 
Bannock  scouts  employed  by  Howard,  and  it  may 
very  well  be  that  some  of  his  white  civilian  scouts 
had  a  part  in  it.  That  scalping  was  forbidden  by 
General  Howard,  and  that  the  act  was  much  regretted 
by  him,  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  probable  that  this 
is  what  cost  the  lives  of  all  the  civilians  that  were 
killed  in  the  Nez  Perce  War. 

25.  John  Bean  was  born  in  Maine,  and  as  a  small 
boy  moved  with  his  family  to  Wisconsin.     As  soon 
as  he  became  large  enough  to  carry  a  gun,  he  be- 
came so  enthusiastic  about  field  sports  that  he  could 
not  be  induced  to  go  to  school.    When  only  a  boy,  he 
went  West,  and  in  early  manhood  dropped  out  of 
touch  with  his  family,  and  was  not  again  heard  of 
until  he  was  a  Government  scout  at  Ft.  Ellis,  Mon- 
tana.   Afterward  he  settled  on  a  ranch  near  Bozeman 
and  went  out  with  eastern  hunting  parties.     About 
thirty  years  ago  he  was  out  with  the  Barings,  and 
with   Chas.  R.   Flint.     About   1903  he  moved  from 
Montana  to  San  Jose,  California,  where  he  now  re- 
sides at  389  North  Whitney  Street.     He  is  said  to 
have  prospered   in  business,   which  has  to  do   with 
automobiles,  and  to  be  quite  well  off. 

26.  Baronett's  Bridge,  the  first  bridge  across  the 

270 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Yellowstone  River  in  the  Park,  built  in  1871  by  C.  J. 
Baronett,  one  of  the  earliest  occupants  of  the  region. 
It  was  formed  by  felling  tall  trees  across  the  river. 
Partially  destroyed  by  the  Nez  Perces  Indians  during 
their  passage  through  the  Park  in  1877,  it  was  after- 
ward repaired. 

C.  J.  Baronett,  sometimes  known  as  "Yellowstone 
Jack,"  and  more  commonly  as  "Jack  Barnet,"  was 
famous  in  the  early  days  of  the  Yellowstone  Park. 
He  was  born  in  Glencoe,  Scotland,  in  1829,  and  fol- 
lowing the  traditions  of  his  father  went  to  sea  early 
in  life.  He  is  said  to  have  been  on  the  coast  of 
Mexico  during  the  Mexican  War,  in  China  in  1850, 
in  Australia  in  1852,  and  in  Africa  in  1853.  His 
wanderings  in  California,  Africa  and  Australia  were 
in  search  of  gold.  In  1854  he  was  in  the  Arctic  Seas 
as  second  mate  of  a  whaling  vessel,  and  returned  to 
California  in  1855;  was  courier  for  Albert  Sydney 
Johnston  in  the  Mormon  War;  prospected  later  in 
Colorado  and  California  for  gold;  was  scout  in  the 
Confederate  service;  was  in  Mexico  with  the  French 
under  Maximilian;  returned  to  California  in  1864; 
returned  to  Montana  the  same  year;  later  settled  in 
the  Yellowstone  Park,  where  in  1870  he  found  the 
lost  T.  C.  Everts;  was  in  the  Black  Hills  in  1875, 
and  a  scout  in  the  Indian  wars  of  1876-1878.  The 
story  of  his  life,  if  it  could  have  been  written,  would 
be  interesting  reading. 

27.  The  falls  are  actually  about  310  feet. 

28.  The  Interior  Department  at  Washington  has 

271 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

published  a  fairly  complete  bibliography  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone National  Park,  but  by  far  the  best  account 
is  given  in  General  Chittenden's  book,  "The  Yellow- 
stone National  Park,  Historical  and  Descriptive,"  by 
Captain  Hiram  Martin  Chittenden,  U.  S.  A.,  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  The  Robert  Clark  Co.,  1895,  pp.  397, 
illustrated. 

Of  unusual  interest  also  is  the  privately  printed 
diary  of  the  Washburn  Expedition  to  the  Yellowstone 
and  Fire  Hole  Rivers  in  the  year  1870,  by  Nathaniel 
Pitt  Langford. 

Among  the  early  and  scarce  articles  which  were 
written  to  bring  its  wonders  before  the  public  were 
two  in  Scribner's  Magazine,  Volume  II.  (May  and 
June,  1871),  by  the  late  Mr.  Langford,  and  one  in 
Volume  III.  (November,  1871),  by  T.  C.  Everts,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  his  experiences  while  he  was  lost 
for  thirty-seven  days  during  the  expedition  of  1870. 

Gen.  George  S.  Anderson,  whose  long  service  and 
splendid  work  as  Acting  Superintendent  of  the  Park 
will  always  be  remembered,  possesses  what  is  prob- 
ably the  most  complete  existing  collection  of  Yellow- 
stone Park  literature. 

29.  Now  known  as  Hayden  Valley. 

30.  In  early  days  the  open  country  in  the  Yellow- 
stone Park  was  a  great  range  for  the  antelope,  and, 
as  Colonel  Pickett  remarks,  they  were  sometimes  seen 
in  the  timber.     We  commonly  regard  the  antelope  as 
a  frequenter  only  of  open  country,  yet  most  people 
who  have  traveled  much  in  the  mountains  have  seen 

272 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

them  in  the  timber,  or  among  it,  though  perhaps  never 
in  very  thick  timber.  In  old  times,  if  one  entered  a 
park  in  the  mountains  where  antelope  were  feeding, 
they  would  be  likely  to  try  to  escape  through  an  open- 
ing leading  from  the  park,  rather  than  to  pass  through 
even  a  narrow  strip  of  pine  woods.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  have  seen  them  feeding  in  a  river  valley  so 
heavily  dotted  with  large  clumps  of  willows  that  in 
fact  the  tree  or  shrub  covered  area  exceeded  that  of 
the  open  prairie  land. 

Because  of  its  high  altitude  the  Yellowstone  Park 
was  only  a  summer  range  for  antelope,  and  at  the 
approach  of  winter  the  herds  migrated  to  the  lower 
land,  great  numbers  of  them  passing  down  the  valley 
of  the  Yellowstone  River,  and  so  out  on  the  plains. 
In  spring  again  they  worked  up  the  valley  and  re- 
entered  the  Yellowstone  Park,  where  usually  the  young 
were  born.  As  soon  as  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone 
River  became  more  or  less  settled,  this  annual  migra- 
tion resulted  in  the  slaughter  of  great  numbers  of 
antelope,  and  a  marked  decrease  in  the  number  of 
those  summering  in  the  Park.  A  dozen  or  fifteen  years 
ago  the  northern  end  of  the  Park  was  fenced,  and  by 
the  sowing  of  alfalfa,  efforts  were  made  to  keep  the 
antelope  in  the  Park.  These  efforts  have  been  only 
moderately  successful,  and  the  number  of  antelope 
found  in  the  Park  has  dwindled  from  thousands  to 
perhaps  not  more  than  five  hundred.  They  seem  to 
be  steadily  decreasing. 


273 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 


1878. 

31.  Some  years  before — in  the  summer  of  1875 — 
this  precise  country  had  been  passed  over  by  a  small 
expedition  under  the  command  of  Col.  Wm.  Ludlow, 
then  Chief  Engineer,  Department  of  Dakota.  His  re- 
port to  the  War  Department  of  a  "Reconnaissance 
from  Carroll,  Montana  Territory,  on  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri, to  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  and  Return" 
was  published  by  the  War  Department,  in  1876.  It 
contains  reports  by  Colonel  Ludlow  and  two  of  his 
assistants  on  the  mammals,  birds  and  geology  of  the 
region  passed  over,  and  of  two  or  three  side  trips. 
There  are  plates  of  a  number  of  newly  discovered 
fossils,  and  maps  of  what  was  then  known  of  the 
region  where  Colonel  Pickett  hunted  later. 

Col.  Wm.  Ludlow,  as  is  well  known,  served  with 
most  distinguished  honor  during  the  war  with  Spain, 
became  Major  General,  and  died  a  number  of  years 
ago.  He  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  attractive 
and  high-minded  officers  that  ever  served  the  United 
States,  and  his  untimely  death  was  deeply  lamented. 

The  town  of  Carroll  was  situated  in  a  broad  bottom 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  just  south 
of  the  Little  Rocky  Mountains,  and  three  or  four 
miles  east  of  the  mouth  of  Little  Rocky  Mountain 
Creek.  For  several  years  it  was  a  place  of  some  im- 
portance. There  were  a  number  of  trading  stores 
there,  one  of  them  at  one  time  kept  by  Joe  Kipp,  and 
around  these  stores  had  grown  up  a  very  small  settle- 
ment. In  1875  it  was  a  typical  new  western  town. 

274 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Carroll  was  one  of  the  points  to  which  the  Indians 
came  to  dispose  of  their  robes  during  the  last  days 
of  the  buffalo  in  Northern  Montana,  and  Bloods, 
Blackfeet,  Piegans,  Crees  and  Red  River  halfbreeds 
resorted  there  in  numbers  at  the  season  for  trade. 

When  the  water  was  low,  Carroll  was  sometimes 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  river,  for  boats  could 
reach  Carroll  when  they  could  not  get  up  to  Cow 
Island.  About  1874  The  Diamond  R  built  a  road 
from  Helena  to  Carroll,  which  thus  became  an  im- 
portant freight  point  for  Northern  Montana.  There 
was  much  travel  over  this  route  by  stage  and  freight 
teams,  and  the  long  road  winding  up  the  gumbo  hills 
was  well  worn. 

The  high  prairie  and  the  isolated  mountain  ranges 
nearby  were  full  of  game,  and  sometimes  the  buffalo 
used  to  come  down  into  the  river  bottom  and  almost 
invade  the  town,  calling  out  the  scanty  population 
with  all  their  firearms,  to  drive  them  away. 

Standing  alone  on  the  border  of  a  debatable  ground, 
which  was  run  over  by  a  dozen  tribes,  some  from  west 
of  the  mountains,  and  others  from  down  the  river  and 
from  the  north  and  the  south,  Carroll  suffered  many 
things  because  of  the  Indians.  I  reached  there  by 
boat  one  scorching  day  in  1875  to  find  that  the  night 
before  Sioux  had  come  into  the  town  and  taken  every 
horse  it  contained,  except  one  cripple,  which  was  un- 
able to  travel. 

Carroll  long  ago  disappeared,  for  the  river,  chang- 
ing its  course,  wore  away  the  bottom,  and  presently 
what  remained  of  the  town  fell  into  the  muddy  Mis- 
souri. It  is  still  remembered  by  a  few  people  as  one 

275 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

of  the  temporary  centers  in  Montana  of  the  last  fur 
trading  days. 

32.  There  were  not  a  few  mountain  sheep  on  the 
rough  buttes  of  the  Judith,   Snowy  and  Little   Belt 
Mountains,   though   these   would   hardly   be   seen   by 
horsemen  hunting  on  the  plains  below. 

33.  As  already  said,  the  river  steamers  procured 
their  fuel  from  wood  yards  scattered  along  the  river 
at  various  points  between  Painted  Woods  and  Benton. 
A  wood-chopper  hired  two  or  three  hands,  built  a 
cabin  in  some  bottom  where  the  cotton  wood  timber 
was  large  and  easy  of  access,  chopped  there  through 
the  winter,  and  in  summer  disposed  of  his  pile  of 
wood  to  the  steamboat  captains  going  up  and  down 
The  men  who  ran  these  wood  yards  and  those  who 
chopped   for  them   were  the  "wood-hawks"   already 
described.    They  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  when 
they  adopted  this  vocation,  and  yet,  after  all,  com- 
paratively few  of  them  were  killed  by  the  Indians. 
They  were  usually  safe  enough  as  long  as  they  kept 
their  wits  about  them,  and  were  prepared  for  danger, 
for  in  the  cabins  in  which  they  lived  they  had  forts 
which  were  impregnable  to  the  savages.     Sometimes, 
however,  they  grew  careless,  and  because  they  saw  no 
Indians,  thought  that  none  were  about,  and  so  were 
surprised  and  killed. 

They  were  migratory  population  who  chopped  wood 
in  late  winter,  spring  and  early  summer,  hunted  in  fall 
and  wolfed — that  is,  collected  wolf  hides — in  winter. 

Pike  Landusky  was  one  of  these,  who  afterward 
276 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

took  to  prospecting  in  various  parts  of  the  moun- 
tains. On  the  south  side  of  the  Little  Rocky  Moun- 
tains he  struck  some  prospects  believed  to  be  very 
good.  A  result  of  this  find  was  that  some  years  later 
the  United  States  Government  sent  out  a  commission 
to  purchase  a  portion  of  the  Little  Rocky  Mountains 
from  the  Belknap  Indians  —  Assiniboines  of  Siouan 
stock,  and  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairie,  of  Algonquian 
stock.  Not  far  from  the  site  of  these  prospects  was 
built  the  town  of  Landusky.  It  is  said  that  of  late 
years  the  mines  have  been  very  productive. 

Pike  Landusky  was  born  in  Pike  County,  Missouri, 
in  1847.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1866,  perhaps  as 
a  part  of  that  migration  formerly  spoken  of  in  jocular 
fashion  as  "the  left  wing  of  Price's  Army."  For 
several  years  after  reaching  the  territory  he  mined 
at  Pioneer  Gulch  with  varying  success,  but  at  length 
moved  to  the  Missouri  River  near  Rocky  Point  and 
became  a  "wood-hawk." 

The  following  notes  on  his  career  are  furnished  by 
an  old  friend,  Colonel  Healy,  of  Montana: 

"In  the  autumn  of  1877,  Landusky  and  a  man 
known  as  'Flopping  Bill/  a  more  or  less  notorious 
character,  went  down  the  river  on  a  hunting  and  trap- 
ping trip.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell  River 
the  soldiers  arrested  them  for  having  in  their  pos- 
session a  Government  mule.  They  were  taken  to 
Miles  City,  tried  and  acquitted.  After  an  absence  of 
twenty-seven  days,  they  returned  to  their  camp  on 
Squaw  Creek  and  found  the  mule  still  alive.  He  had 
been  left  there  tied  to  a  log.  This  log  had  been  nearly 
eaten  up  by  the  animal. 

277 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

"Soon  after  this,  with  a  number  of  others,  Landusky 
became  interested  in  a  trading  post  on  Flat  Willow. 
Among  those  at  this  post  were  Joe  Hamilton,  Billy 
Jackson  and  a  number  of  others."  The  story  has  been 
told  in  Forest  and  Stream  and  was  called  the  Woman 
from  Sitting  Bull's  Camp.  The  place  is  now  known 
as  Maginnis'  Crossing. 

"In  1882-83  the  Piegans,  Bloods,  Crees  and  Crow 
Indians  were  camped  on  Flat  Willow  after  buffalo, 
which  were  there  in  thousands.  One  day  some  whiskey 
traders  came  to  the  Indian  camp,  and  many  of  the 
Indians  became  intoxicated.  It  is  reported  that  old 
White  Calf  when  drunk  shot  Pike  through  the  jaw. 
Pike,  blinded  by  blood  and  anger,  shot  at  the  first 
thing  he  saw,  which  proved  to  be  White  Calf's  wife. 
When  the  woman  fell,  White  Calf  was  frightened, 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away  to  camp  and  the 
fight  was  ended.  Pike  and  Hamilton  did  a  big  busi- 
ness trading  with  the  Indians.  In  1883,  Pike  moved 
to  Maiden,  a  mining  camp  near  Fort  Maginnis  and 
engaged  in  mining.  He  married  the  widow  Dessary, 
who  had  five  children.  In  the  fall  of  1883  Pike  and 
Dutch  Louis  struck  the  Alder  Gulch  placer  mines  in 
the  Little  Rockies,  which  proved  to  be  a  good  camp. 
In  1888  Pike  was  ranching  on  the  Missouri  River 
at  Hawley  Bottom,  but,  after  a  time,  concluding  that 
he  was  not  cut  out  for  a  rancher,  he  moved  back  to 
the  mines,  and  founded  the  town  of  Landusky.  He 
built  a  fine  residence,  leased  the  August  mine,  and  in  a 
short  time  took  out  thirty-five  thousand  dollars  in  gold. 

"The  Curry  gang  of  outlaws  made  their  headquar- 
ters in  or  near  Landusky  and  were  jealous  of  Pike. 

278 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

They  managed  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  him  in  Jew 
Jake's  saloon,  and  he  was  killed  by  Harvey  Logan, 
chief  of  the  band.  Logan  escaped  and  was  never 
arrested  for  the  crime.  The  widow  and  her  children 
are  now  raising  fruit  on  the  Columbia  River,  Oregon. 

'Tike  Landusky,  a  true  friend  and  a  man  of  many 
sterling  qualities,  deserved  a  better  fate  than  to  be 
murdered  by  a  band  of  outlaws." 

Of  the  horse  purchased  by  Colonel  Pickett,  "Billy" 
Hofer  says :  "He  was  named  Pike,  and  was  the  only 
horse  I  ever  saw  who  actually  hunted,  virtually  inde- 
pendent of  the  man  who  was  riding  him.  Often  he 
would  discover  game  before  the  rider  and  try  to  make 
his  rider  understand  that  there  was  something  in  sight. 
He  was  the  only  horse  I  ever  saw  who  would  try  to 
keep  his  body  hid;  he  would  sneak  up  behind  a  tree 
and  peep  out  to  one  side,  almost  like  a  human  being. 
He  used  to  like  to  find  choice  feeding  places  a  little 
to  one  side  of  the  main  band.  He  seemed  to  like  to 
keep  such  finds  to  himself.  Now  and  then  his  pro- 
pensity for  being  secretive  would  cause  him  to  lose 
the  band.  I  have  seen  him,  as  soon  as  the  horses 
were  turned  loose,  feed  away  from  the  others  till  he 
got  behind  a  bushy  tree,  and  then  work  out  of  sight, 
keeping  the  tree  between  him  and  the  other  horses. 
He  would  look  back  to  see  if  the  others  were  watch- 
ing him  or  following  him ;  then  he  would  slip  behind 
a  clump  of  little  trees  or  round  a  hill,  occasionally 
peeping  out  to  see  if  other  horses  were  in  sight;  if 
they  worked  away  he  would  be  obliged  to  follow,  be- 
cause he  did  not  want  to  be  left  entirely  alone. 
Several  times  when  he  lost  the  other  horses  at  night 

279 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

he  came  galloping  around  the  camp  trying  to  find 
them.  Later  Colonel  Pickett  purchased  another  horse 
that  he  named  Red.  This  horse's  sight  became  slight- 
ly defective;  Pike  took  him  up  as  a  companion,  and 
they  were  partners  from  then  on.  Sometimes  both 
would  get  lost  from  the  other  horses.  Once  it  was 
necessary  to  go  back  to  the  last  camp  to  find  them." 

34.  Tendoy  was  the  chief  of  a  band  of  Bannocks 
and  Shoshonis  and  Sheepeaters.     They  used  to  live 
in  the   Upper   Lemhi   and   Birch   Creek   country   of 
Western  Montana.     Tendoy  was  a  fine  Indian;  had 
always  been  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  it  was  said 
had  received  a  special  pension,  by  Act  of  Congress, 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  services  and  influence  in 
keeping  his  people  from  taking  sides  during  the  Nez 
Perce  war,  for  the  Nez  Perces  did  everything  they 
could  to  induce  the  Lemhis  to  join  them.     Tendoy 
was  a  high-class   man,   frank,   intelligent  and  witty, 
with  a  natural  dignity  that  was  very  impressive.     He 
died  early  in  1907,  aged  eighty-three.     Even  when  he 
was  eighty  years  old  his  natural  force  was  not  abated, 
and  De  Cost  Smith,  who  knew  him  well,  tells  of  his 
riding,  at  that  age,  a  bucking  horse,  which  threw  him 
once,  but  the  old  man  rose  to  his  feet,  remounted  and 
rode  the  horse.    No  one  was  present  at  the  time,  save 
Mr.  Smith,  but  that  night  Tendoy  told  his  fellows  of 
the  incident  and  laughed  with  them  about  it. 

After  Tendoy's  death,  the  settlers  of  Idaho,  in 
recognition  of  his  services,  subscribed  funds  toward 
the  erection  of  a  monument  to  his  memory. 

35.  Armell's  Creek  was  named  after  an  old  French 

280 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

trapper  from  St.  Louis,  whose  Christian  name  is  for- 
gotten. He  was  early  in  the  western  country,  and 
in  1859  was  Government  interpreter  at  Ft.  Benton. 
At  certain  points  in  the  cut  banks  along  the  course 
of  this  stream  are  seams  of  the  red  clay,  which  the 
primitive  Indians  used  for  paint.  An  opportunity 
to  collect  this  clay  was  never  neglected  when  it 
offered.  The  Blackfoot  name  for  Armell's  Creek  is 
et  tsis  ki  ots  op,  meaning,  "It  fell  on  them,"  from  the 
following  circumstance :  A  long  time  ago,  as  a  num- 
ber of  Blackfeet  women  were  digging  in  a  bank  near 
this  stream,  for  the  red  clay,  which  they  used  for 
paint,  the  bank  gave  way,  and  fell  on  them,  burying 
and  killing  them.  (Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales,  p.  61.) 

¥ 

36.  The  peak  climbed  must  have  been  either  Black 
Butte  or  Cone  Butte.  From  either  of  these  points 
the  view  is  extensive.  Cone  Butte  is  a  trachyte  hill 
about  3,400  feet  above  the  Missouri  River.  The 
Little  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Bear  Paw  Moun- 
tains, although  distant,  are  very  conspicuous,  and  the 
prairie  below,  dotted  as  it  was  then  with  feeding  game 
and  now  with  cattle  and  prosperous  farm  houses, 
was  and  is  a  goodly  sight.  At  that  time  this  com- 
manding position  was  well  appreciated  by  the  Indians, 
who  used  it  as  a  lookout.  The  Judith  Basin  was  in 
fact  at  that  time  a  sort  of  debatable  ground  visited 
by  Crows,  Bannocks,  Snakes,  Sioux,  Gros  Ventres  of 
the  Prairie,  Assiniboines,  Blackfeet  and  Red  River 
halfbreeds.  Many  of  these  tribes  were  at  war  with 
one  another,  and  most  of  them,  even  though  on  friend- 
ly terms,  were  distinctly  suspicious  of  each  other. 

281 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Cone  Butte  and  Black  Butte  or  Buffalo  Heart 
Mountain,  as  it  was  also  called,  are  both  volcanic 
masses  thrown  up  through  the  prairie  as  so  commonly 
occurs  in  this  neighborhood.  A  break  in  the  hills  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  forks  of  Box  Elder  used  to 
be  called  Ross's  Cut-Off  and  gave  passage  to  frequent 
parties  of  Indians. 

Many  years  ago,  in  buffalo  days,  I  climbed  to  the 
top  of  Black  Butte  and  found  on  it  a  lookout  shelter, 
built  by  Indians.  It  was  composed  of  blocks  of 
trachyte,  laid  in  two  rows,  perhaps  two  feet  apart, 
and  these  two  rows  supported  flat  slabs  of  the  trachyte, 
which  would  keep  off  rain  or  snow.  A  bed  of  pine 
boughs  covered  the  rocks  which  constituted  the  floor 
of  this  shelter.  It  had  been  in  use  within  a  few  weeks, 
for  the  pine  needles  in  it  were  entirely  fresh.  At  this 
particular  time  Sioux  were  traveling  through  the 
country  and  taking  horses  and  pretty  much  anything 
else  that  they  could  get. 

37.  A.  L.  Reed  came  into  Montana  from  Colorado 
in  1868,  and  from  1868  to  1871  was  Indian  agent  at 
Ft.  Browning  on  the  lower  Milk  River,  near  where 
Dodson  Station  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway  now 
is,  opposite  the  mouth  of  People's  Creek.  Ft.  Brown- 
ing was  the  Indian  agency  for  the  Gros  Ventres  of 
the  Prairie,  and  some  of  the  Assiniboines,  and  was 
afterward  superseded  by  Ft.  Belknap,  on  the  south 
side  of  Milk  River,  opposite  the  present  town  of 
Harlem.  Reed  was  popular  with  the  upper  Gros 
Ventres  Indians — of  Algonquin  stock — and,  after  los- 
ing his  position  as  Indian  agent,  established  with 

282 


CROSSING  A  SNOW  FIELD. 
(See  page  314.) 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

Bowles — under  the  style  Reed  &  Bowles — a  trading 
post  on  Big  Spring  Fork  of  the  Judith  River.  This 
trading  store  was  in  operation  in  1875,  and  at  the 
same  time  there  was  a  small  branch  store  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Judith  River,  known  as  Ft.  Claggett. 
About  1909  Reed  was  in  a  soldiers*  home  near  Los 
Angeles,  California.  He  died  in  Seattle,  Washington, 
in  the  summer  of  1912. 

38.  Lovell  H.  Jerome  graduated  from  West  Point 
in  the  class  of  1870,  and  for  some  years  saw  service 
on  the  plains.     At  the  battle  of  the  Bear  Paws,  at 
the  close  of  the  Nez  Perce  War,  he  was  captured  by 
the   Nez   Perces,  and  held   in  their  camp   until  ex- 
changed for  Chief  Joseph,  who  was  in  General  Miles' 
camp.     Mr.  Jerome  is  a  resident  of  New  York  City. 

39.  Many   Indian   tribes   are   forbidden   by   their 
traditions  or  beliefs  to  handle  the  skins  of  certain 
animals.     The  Blackfeet  and  perhaps  the  Crows  may 
not — except  in  the  case  of  certain  persons  possessing 
peculiar  powers — use  or  handle  the  skin  of  a  bear. 
In  the  same  way  the  Cheyennes  may  not  dress  the 
hide  of  a  wolf  or  a  beaver  unless  certain  ceremonies 
have  previously  been  performed. 

40.  The  custom  of  the  blood  feud  no  doubt  was 
universal  among  all  Indians,  but  usually  the  killing 
of  a  relative  might  be  compounded  for  by  the  giving 
of  presents.     On   the   other  hand,   in   the  heat  of  a 
quarrel,  two  or  three  persons  might  be  killed  before 

283 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

there  was  time  to  think  about  it.  Among  the  Black- 
feet,  the  Cheyenne  and  Columbia  River  Indians,  and 
probably  all  other  tribes,  if  there  was  time  for  thought, 
satisfactory  gifts  would  always  settle  the  matter.  I 
have  known  a  number  of  Indians  who  in  a  quarrel, 
or  while  intoxicated,  have  killed  their  fellow  tribes- 
men, and  I  have  not  met  with  a  case  where  anyone 
has  been  killed  in  revenge.  On  the  other  hand,  this 
unquestionably  sometimes  happened.  In  certain  tribes 
it  was  sometimes  necessary  for  a  chief  to  kill  a  less 
important  man  in  order  to  uphold  his  own  authority. 
How  this  was  treated  by  the  public  opinion  of  the 
camp  depended  on  the  tribe  where  the  occurrence  had 
taken  place.  Among  the  Piegans,  it  is  reported  that 
this  .las  been  done  a  number  of  times,  and  that  the 
man  killing  his  fellow  suffered  no  loss  of  prestige. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  case  of  old  Little  Dog,  who 
had  been  obliged  to  kill  some  of  his  fellows,  and  was 
finally  himself  killed  by  his  tribesmen,  at  once  sug- 
gests itself.  Among  the  Cheyennes,  such  leading  war- 
riors as  Porcupine  Bear,  Gentle  Horse  and  Old  Little 
Wolf  had  each,  through  alcohol,  accident  or  ill  tem- 
per killed  a  member  of  the  tribe,  and  all  of  them 
immediately  lost  all  influence  and  were  ostracized. 
A  note  on  this  point  west  of  the  mountains  will  be 
found  in  Ross,  The  Fur  Hunters  of  the  Far  West, 
Vol.  i,  p.  p. 

41.  Now  known  as  Piegan  postoffice. 

42.  The  flesh  of  the  bull  elk  during  the  rutting 
season  is  tough,  strong  and  hardly  fit  to  be  eaten,  but 

284 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

the  meat  of  cows,  calves  and  spikes  (young  bulls)  is 
very  good,  and  by  many  is  preferred  to  all  other  game. 


43.  T.   Elwood   Hofer   says  as   to  this:     "From 
thirty-eight  years'  experience  in  the  mountains  of  the 
West,  and  four  trips  to  Alaska,  I  am  pretty  certain 
that  neither  the  grizzly  bear  nor  the  Alaska  brown 
bear  or  Kadiak  bear  breed 'annually.     There  may  be 
exceptions  to  this  rule.     I  have  seen  a  female  grizzly 
with   apparently  two-year-old   cubs   and   young   cubs 
with  her.     I  have  often   seen   female  grizzlies  with 
three  cubs;  of  course,  one  may  be  mistaken  by  not 
seeing  the  same  bears  every  year;  we  can  only  judge 
from  bears  that  we  see  in  the  Yellowstone  Park,  from 
year  to  year,  and  think  we  recognize  the  same  animal. 
If  they  would  kindly  let  us  mark  them,  we  could  keep 
better  track  of  their  habits,  and  ways  of  life." 

It  is  now  believed  by  many  naturalists  that  the  fe- 
male of  the  grizzly  and  great  brown  bear  does  not 
bear  young  every  year. 

44.  General  Miles'  fight  with  the  Bannocks  was  in 
some  hills  near  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Yellowstone.  Here 
Captain  Andrew  S.  Bennett  was  killed,  and  the  little 
stream  carries  his  name  to-day.    The  hostile  Bannocks 
who  escaped  at  the  first  attack  later  attempted  to  join 
Tendoy's  band.     Tendoy  had  no  sympathy  for  them, 
and  later  turned  them  over  to  General  Miles  at  Fort 
Keogh. 

45.  It  is  evident  that  Colonel   Pickett   sent  into 

285 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Martinsdale  at  the  Forks  of  the  Musselshell,  where 
about  that  time  a  postoffice  had  been  established. 

46.  Crazy  Woman  Mountains — now  called  usually 
Crazy  Mountains.    At  that  time  this  was  a  great  game 
country.     Thousands  of  elk,  deer,  white  and  blacktail 
and  antelope  ranged  the  country,  not  to  mention  the 
mountain  sheep,  which  were  abundant  on  the  southern 
slopes  of  these  mountains  and  on  to  the  broken  banks 
of   the    Yellowstone.     This   was    a   favorite   hunting 
ground  for  Bannocks,  Shoshonis,   Crows  and  some- 
times  war-traveling  bands  of  more  distant  Indians, 
who  considered  the  aforementioned  Indians  as  their 
enemies,  and  to  be  attacked  if  this  could  be  done  with 
prospect  of  success. 

A  peculiar  thing  about  these  mountains  is  that  there 
is  no  pass  through  them ;  the  heads  of  all  the  streams 
are  very  abrupt,  with  cliffs  on  both  sides  of  the  ridge. 
White-tail  deer  were  extremely  abundant  on  all  the 
streams  heading  in  these  mountains.  During  the  sum- 
mer there  was  not  much  game  around,  as  it  went  into 
the  higher  country  of  the  main  range.  Now  scarcely 
an  animal  can  be  found  here. 

47.  Many  plains  streams  have  the  same  name  in 
different  tribes.    Thus  the  Yellowstone  River  is  called 
Elk  River  by  most  of  the  northern  plains  tribes,  from 
the   great   abundance   of   elk    formerly   found   in    its 
valley.      What  we   call   the    Musselshell   River   is   a 
translation  of  the  Cheyenne  name  Ihko  worn'  iyo'  he, 
from  the  abundance  of  the  unios  found  in  its  bed. 
Crazy  Woman's  River  is  from  the  Cheyenne  word, 

286 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

implying  light-headedness,  lack  of  balance,  likelihood 
to  do  foolish  things.  It  is  not  nearly  so  strong  as  the 
word  mas  sanr  e,  meaning  crazy  or  foolish.  The  Sioux 
are  said  to  have  given  this  name  to  this  stream,  and 
it  was  adopted  by  other  tribes.  [See  American  An- 
thropologist (N.  S.),  Vol.  8  No.  i,  p.  15,  J<wuary- 
March,  1906.] 

48.  This  freight  outfit  which  belonged  to  Benjamin 
Fridley,  of  Bozeman,  was  camped,  as  said,  at  the 
spring,  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  Gap.  The 
horses  had  been  turned  loose  and  the  night-herder 
was  rolling  himself  a  cigarette  at  the  camp-fire,  when 
they  all  heard  the  stampede  of  the  horses  away  from 
the  Gap,  the  bell  constantly  sounding  fainter.  Frid- 
ley, who  was  familiar  with  Indian  ways,  seized  his 
Winchester  and  ran  in  the  opposite  direction,  in  order 
to  reach  the  Gap  as  soon  as  possible.  By  the  time  he 
had  reached  there  and  gotten  his  breath,  he  heard 
the  horses  coming.  The  Indians  had  made  a  long 
circle  around  the  camp,  expecting  to  be  followed,  but 
not  to  be  headed  off.  As  soon  as  the  horses  got  close, 
Fridley  began  to  fire  his  rifle  and  to  yell.  He  put  in 
the  shots  so  rapidly  that  he  turned  the  horses  back 
to  camp,  and  the  thieves  left  them,  and  of  course  were 
never  seen.  By  that  time  the  horses  were  somewhat 
willing  to  be  caught,  and  a  careful  guard  was  kept 
over  them  until  they  reached  the  Yellowstone ;  in  fact, 
until  Bozeman  was  reached.  Had  the  Indians  known 
the  valuable  freight  of  these  wagons,  they  would  per- 
haps have  tried  to  come  in  force  strong  enough  to 
have  killed  the  men  and  captured  the  whole  outfit. 

287 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  freight  consisted  principally  of  rifles  and  ammu- 
nition that  had  been  shipped  up  the  Missouri  River 
with  the  expectation  of  landing  it  at  Fort  Benton. 
The  low  water  in  the  river  obliged  the  steamers  to 
unload  at  Carroll. 


1879. 

49.  Catlin  had  some  ground  for  alarm,  as  there  had 
been  war  parties  of  Indians  through  the  country  every 
year  previously.     They  were  likely  to  steal  horses,  if 
doing  no  other  damage,  and  to  lose  one's  horses  so 
far  from  civilization,  or  where  other  horses  could  not 
be  had,  was  a  serious  matter. 

50.  The  three  young  bulls  mentioned  as  having  not 
dropped  their  horns  were  probably  spikes,  or  two-year- 
olds.    As  is  well  known,  the  young  bulls  always  carry 
their  horns  much  later  than  the  older  ones. 

51.  Except  the  white-tail  deer,  the  game  mentioned 
as  having  disappeared  was  probably  all  moving  south, 
toward  its  summer  range  in  the  mountains  to  the  south 
and  on  both  sides  of  the  Yellowstone  River,  and  into 
the  Yellowstone  Park.     This  range  is  now  all  fenced 
in,  and  not  available  for  game,  which  is  compelled  to 
stay  in  the  high  mountains,  and  usually  winters  at 
an  altitude  of  from  five  to  eight  thousand  feet.     The 
white-tail  deer  do  not  usually  migrate  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  the  other  animals.     The  black-tail — or  mule 
deer — commonly  migrate  a  little  before  the  elk. 

288 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

52.  Deer  or  the  ordinary  wild  ruminants  of  the 
plains  or  the  mountains  do  not  fear  a  horse.    In  early 
days  antelope  were  often  seen  feeding  among  horses 
and  cattle  on  the  prairie,  just  as  at  an  earlier  date 
they  had   fed  among  the  buffalo,   with  which  often 
they  went  to  water  and  moved  about  over  the  prairie. 
A  deer  near  or  among  the  horses  in  the  early  morn- 
ing was  formerly  a  common  sight,  and  in  the  high 
northern  Rocky   Mountains   I  have  known  of  cases 
where  moose  were  found  feeding  among  the  horses  in 
the  morning.    Every  man  who  has  traveled  much  with 
a  pack  train  through  an  elk  country  in  autumn  has 
had  the  experience  of  having  the  bull  elk  try  to  drive 
off  his  horses. 

It  is  well  known  also  that  wild  animals  will  often 
closely  approach  some  object  which,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  would  alarm  them — provided  this  ob- 
ject remains  motionless.  As  I  once  said  elsewhere, 
the  deer  recognizes  danger  only  in  life,  and  life  only 
in  motion.  Sport  With  Gun  and  Rod,  p.  135.  This 
seems  to  be  true  of  animals  generally. 

53.  Photographs  of  grouse  in  captivity  have  shown 
how  the  sound  of  drumming  is  produced.     (American 
Game  Bird  Shooting,  p.  145.) 

54.  This  is  one  of  the  many  instances  supporting 
the  belief  that  grizzly  bears  do  not  have  cubs  each 
year. 

55.  This  is  undoubtedly  an  error  of  observation, 
since  mountain  goats   (Oreamnos)  are  not  found  in 

289 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

this  region.  What  Catlin  saw  may  have,  been  young 
male  mountain  sheep  or  perhaps  ewes  of  that  species. 
On  the  other  hand  there  are  two  perfectly  good  records 
for  the  white  goat  far  south  of  this  region,  in  Colo- 
rado, as  I  pointed  out  in  a  paper  published  many 
years  ago  in  Forest  and  Stream.  One  of  these  was 
killed  by  John  Willis,  a  former  hunting  partner  of 
Colonel*Roosevelt,  and  only  a  few  years  ago  residing 
at  or  near  Malta,  Montana. 

Goats  have  been  traditionally  reported  from  moun- 
tain ranges  near  the  Hoback  River,  but  so  far  as 
known,  none  have  ever  been  taken  there.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  are  found  in  Idaho  not  very  far  to 
the  west  and  northwest  of  that  section. 

56.  This  was  known  among  the  hunters  as  Elk 
Lake,   and  was   much   frequented   by   elk,   deer   and 
mountain  sheep.     To-day  it  is  inclosed  in  a  meadow 
belonging  to  a  ranchman  named  Smith. 

57.  The  south  fork  of  this  stream  is  known  as 
Sunlight,   and  the  valley  above  the  canon  is   called 
Sunlight  Basin,  and  occupied  by  ranchers. 

58.  James  Walters'  cabin  was  on  the  east  bank  of 
the   Boulder  near  where  the   Northern   Pacific  road 
now  crosses  that  stream.     His  wife  may  have  been  a 
Crow  woman,  but  I  think  she  was  a  Piegan.    Walters 
had  lived  with  the  Indians  a  great  many  years.     He 
was  always  a  little  afraid  the   Bannocks  would  kill 
him  in  revenge  for  his  having  killed  a  Bannock  Indian 
many  years  before.    When  the  Bannocks  under  Ten- 

290 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

doy  and  Major  Jim  were  near,  he  often  disappeared 
for  a  time.  The  present  town  of  Big  Timber  is  on 
a  high  bank,  west  of  where  his  cabin  was. 

59.  The  stage  station  was  on  Big  Timber,  which 
comes  into  the  Yellowstone  from  the  north  side,  near- 
ly opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Boulder.     At  one  time 
these  streams  had  the  name  of  Cross  Rivers. 

60.  Though  quite  unusual,  deaf  mutes  occur  among 
the  Indians  more  or  less  frequently,  and  I  have  seen 
them  occasionally   in   different  tribes.     As  might  be 
expected,   they   are   all   extremely   able   sign   talkers; 
their  ability  to  use  their  hands  and  their  quick  intelli- 
gence being  a  partial  result  of  their  inability  to  talk. 
Milo's  wife  was  known  as  "Dummy."     She  was  a 
very  rapid  and  efficient  sign  talker,  a  very  good  cook, 
generally  cheerful    and    withal    a    willing    and  rapid 
worker. 

61.  This  was  Benson's  Landing,  about  two  miles 
below  the  present  town  of  Livingston. 

62.  This  stage  station  was  Hopper's,  where  fresh 
horses  were  taken. 


1880. 

63.  George  Herendeen  was  one  of  the  civilian 
scouts  serving  with  Terry  in  the  campaign  of  1876, 
and  was  with  General  Custer  during  his  scouting  up 

291 


Hunting  at  High  Altitude* 

the  Rosebud  in  June  of  that  year.  With  the  other 
civilian  scouts,  he  was  detailed  to  accompany  Reno 
when  that  command  was  sent  off  to  attack  the  Indian 
camp  from  the  upper  side,  while  Custer  was  to  attack 
it  from  the  lower. 

Many  of  these  civilian  scouts,  as  Charles  Reynolds, 
Obadiah,  the  negro,  and  Bloody  Knife,  the  Ree,  were 
killed,  near  the  crossing  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  in 
the  effort  to  check  a  charge  of  the  Indians  on  the 
panic-stricken  troops.  Herendeen  survived,  to  make 
the  trip  with  Colonel  Pickett,  and  in  1910  was  work- 
ing in  the  Glacier  National  Park  at  the  office  of  Major 
Logan,  the  superintendent. 


1881. 

64.  The  respect  felt  for  the  bear  is  common  to 
many  North  American  tribes,  and  a  good  example  of 
the  feeling  toward  it  and  the  ceremonial  manner  in 
which  it  is  treated  is  given  in  the  Travels  of  Alexander 
Henry,  p.  143  (New  York,  1809).  The  Indians  of 
the  Northern  Plains  in  old  times  greatly  feared  the 
grizzly  bear,  though  in  later  days  men  were  willing 
to  attack,  fight  and  kill  it,  but  usually  with  apologies. 
The  Blackfeet  and  Cheyenne  would  make  no  use  of 
the  flesh  or  hide  of  the  grizzly  bear.  Women  will 
not  cook  nor  eat  its  flesh,  nor  dress  the  hide.  They 
seem  to  fear  that  the  spirit  of  the  bear  may  injure 
them  and  usually  no  persuasion  will  induce  them  to 
undertake  the  work  of  tanning  a  hide.  Yet  this  feel- 
ing is  not  universal  among  the  Indians,  and  in  some 

292 


Notes  on  Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

tribes  where  the  bear  is  tabu,  ~  it  is  possible  to  find 
a  captive  woman  from  another  tribe  who  does  not 
fear  the  bear,  and  is  willing  to  do  the  work.  Certain 
medicine  men  are  at  liberty  to  wear  about  the  head  a 
fillet  of  dressed  bear  hide,  and  of  these  some  may  sit 
upon  a  bear  robe ;  but  these  are  few.  Many  people  do 
not  feel  free  to  speak  the  bear's  name,  but  instead 
call  him  "sticky  mouth."  Among  the  plains  Indians 
I  have  not  heard  of  any  story  implying  the  descent 
of  people  from  the  grizzly  bear. 

65.  This  is  Bennett's  Creek,  where  Captain  Bennett 
was  killed  in  1878.     See  Note  44. 

66.  They  make  the  noise  partly  with  the  throat, 
and  do  it  either  inhaling  or  exhaling  the  air.    Though 
not  a  loud  noise,  the  sound  seems  to  carry  a  long  dis- 
tance.   It  can  be  heard  three-quarters  of  a  mile  away. 
I  know  of  no  sound  or  cry  made  by  an  animal  that 
it  can  be  compared  to. 

A  matter  that  is  scarcely,  or  not  at  all,  mentioned 
in  books  on  natural  history  is  the  early  life  of  the 
young  calf  elk.  As  Colonel  Pickett  says,  the  cow  elk 
keep  close  together  for  protection,  and  usually  the 
calves  do  not  keep  close  to  their  mothers,  but  herd 
together  in  a  bunch  by  themselves  off  to  one  side  of 
the  cow,  much  as  young  buffalo  calves  keep  by  them- 
selves at  a  similar  age.  Sometimes  these  calves  make 
a  great  noise,  calling  almost  constantly,  either  to  each 
other  or  for  their  mothers.  The  call  is  not  a  bleat, 
nor  a  bawl  such  as  is  uttered  by  the  domestic  animal 
of  the  same  age,  but  rather  a  shrill,  high-pitched 

293 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

scream,  and  when  a  number  of  calves  are  uttering 
it,  practically  at  the  same  time,  they  make  a  great 
din.  I  recall  that  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  it  the 
mountains  were  clouded  in  a  heavy  mist.  I  did  not 
know  what  caused  the  sound,  but  my  companion  knew 
and  told  me,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  the  calves 
were  calling  for  their  mothers,  having  lost  sight  of 
them  in  the  thick  fog  which  had  suddenly  come  up. 
In  later  years  I  often  heard  the  sound  in  fair  weather. 

67.  T.  E.  Hofer  writes  me :  "All  the  bears  killed  by 
Colonel  Pickett,  on  this  hunt,  were  secured  by  using 
hollow  pointed  balls.  In  one  instance  only  was  a 
solid  ball  used,  and  that  on  a  wounded  animal  run- 
ning away  quartering.  The  ball  entered  from  back 
of  hip,  passed  diagonally  through  him,  lodging  in  the 
point  of  his  shoulder  and  bringing  him  down.  The 
first  shot  with  the  hollow  pointed  ball  would  have 
caused  his  death  in  a  short  time,  but  Colonel  Pickett 
took  no  chances  from  an  animal  escaping  for  the  want 
of  a  few  shots,  in  a  case  where  it  showed  vitality 
enough  to  run.  This  bear  weighed  something  over 
700  pounds." 


204 


IN  THE  OLD  ROCKIES 

It  has  occurred  to  me  to  write,  in  the  form  of 
two  stories,  of  three  days'  hunting  in  the  old 
Rockies.  One  of  these  deals  with  days  upon  which 
the  memory  loves  to  linger — days  full  of  adven- 
ture, of  unusual  incident  and  of  success.  The  other 
is  of  a  day  when  only  bad  luck  seemed  to  attend 
efforts  in  the  way  of  climbing  and  covering  ground 
which  only  the  enthusiasm  of  the  twenties  enables 
one  to  put  forth.  I  shall  write  of  this  last  day 
first,  because,  as  I  think  Fielding  said,  a  tale,  like 
a  carefully  prepared  meal,  should  grow  in  interest 
or  spicy  flavor  as  it  progresses. 

With  my  friends  Charles  Penrose  and  Granville 
Keller  and  an  exceedingly  lazy  and  generally 
worthless  boy,  Frank,  whom  we  had  hired  to  look 
after  the  horses,  we  were  returning  to  Bozeman, 
after  about  two  months'  successful  hunting  among 
the  headwaters  of  the  Stinking  Water  and  Upper 
Yellowstone  Rivers.  At  the  head  of  Sheep  Creek, 
a  small  tributary,  I  think,  of  Trail  Creek,  we  had 
turned  off  the  direct  route  in  order  to  spend  our 

295 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

very  last  days  of  the  hunt  trying  to  get  a  good 
mountain  sheep  head.  The  time  of  the  year  was 
early  November,  and  there  were  then  plenty  of 
sheep  in  this  locality,  for  they  had  already  come 
down  from  the  higher  mountains.  Before  this,  I 
had  had  experience  in  hunting  sheep,  but  up  to 
that  time  I  had  not — nor  have  I  yet — been  success- 
ful in  getting  a  very  good  head.  I  have  grown  to 
believe  that,  when  it  comes  to  hunting  Rocky 
Mountain  sheep,  I  am  a  Jonah,  although  it  has 
been  my  good  fortune  to  be  quite  successful  in 
hunting  other  kinds  of  American  big  game. 

One  morning,  the  last  of  our  hunt,  I  arose  long 
before  daybreak,  prepared  and  ate  a  hurried  break- 
fast and  got  well  started  by  starlight.  As  has 
always  been  my  custom  when  still-hunting,  I  went 
alone. 

Before  there  was  strong  daylight  I  ran  across  a 
bunch  of  sheep,  and  I  am  ashamed  to-  say  that  I 
fired  at  them,  without  knowing  whether  or  not 
there  was  a  good  ram  in  the  bunch.  In  the  dim 
light  I  seemed  to  see  a  big  sheep,  and  fired  at  it  on 
the  chance  that  it  was  a  ram.  I  was  gratified,  on 
going  over  to  the  spot  at  which  I  had  seen  the 
sheep,  to  find  that  I  had  made  two  clean  misses, 
since  their  tracks  showed  that  there  were  several 
ewes  and  lambs  in  the  bunch.  At  the  time  I  was 

296 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

using  a  splendid  English  Holland  &  Holland 
double  express  hammer  rifle,  .450  caliber,  the  shells 
being  loaded  with  something  like  120  grains  of 
Curtis  &  Harvey  black  powder  and  heavy  solid 
lead  bullets,  containing  about  1-20  tin.  I  have 
always  believed  in  plenty  of  lead,  backed  up  by 
plenty  of  powder,  and  it  is  rather  hard  far  me  to 
become  reconciled  to  the  modern  high  power  rifles. 
My  experience  with  them  at  ranges  over  one  hun- 
dred yards — that  is,  after  the  bullet  has  settled 
down  and  is  rotating  steadily  on  its  major  axis — 
has  not  been  as  satisfactory  as  with  the  old-time 
ammunition.  I  am  told  that  there  are  new  and 
very  effective  methods,  with  which  I  am  not 
familiar,  of  making  the  small  bullet  expand  with- 
out splitting  into  several  pieces,  even  after  it  has 
settled  down  and  its  rear  end  is  not  wobbling  about 
like  a  top  before  it  "goes  to  sleep" — as  we  used  to 
say  when  we  were  boys — which  is  supposed  to  be 
the  cause  of  their  making  such  terrible  wounds  at 
short  ranges.  If  so,  the  modern  rifles  certainly 
have  many  and  great  advantages  over  those  of  the 
old  style. 

About  sunrise  I  found  myself  a  long  way  from 
camp,  and  an  hour  or  so  later  saw  in  the  distance 
a  band  of  sheep  lying  down.  With  my  glass  I 
could  see  a  fine  ram  among  them.  As  the  wind  was 

297 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

wrong,  I  made  a  very  long  detour,  and  at  the  end 
of  more  than  an  hour  found  myself  behind  a 
rock,  which  I  had  long  before  selected  as  the  point 
from  which  I  would  attempt  a  shot.  Just  as  I  was 
about  to  peer  cautiously  around  the  rock  I  felt  the 
wind  hit  me  in  the  back  of  the  neck,  and  an  instant 
later  came  the  sound  of  scampering  feet  and  all  I 
could  see  as  I  ran  around  the  rock  was  a  sheep 
vanishing  behind  another  big  rock  a  hundred  yards 
away. 

Cursing  my  luck,  but  knowing  that  there  was 
very  little  use  in  attempting  to  follow  them,  I 
wended  my  way  toward  another  mountain,  and  as 
the  sheep  happened  to  be  going  my  way,  I  more  or 
less  followed  their  trail,  not  with  any  hope  of 
seeing  them  again  but  simply  because  their  way 
was  my  way.  Reaching  the  other  mountain,  I 
found  myself  in  open  pine  and  juniper  timber,  and 
to  my  great  surprise  soon  noticed  from  the  sign  in 
the  snow  that  the  sheep  had  scattered;  in  fact,  had 
commenced  to  feed.  I  of  course  devoted  myself 
to  the  track  of  the  big  ram  and  proceeded  as  care- 
fully as  if  walking  on  eggs. 

I  followed  him  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
the  wind  being  right,  and  this  time  holding  true. 
I  finally  noticed  the  track  pass  around  a  very  large 
juniper  tree,  one  of  those  large  and  dense  junipers 

298 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

of  Montana  which  many  of  us  know  so  well  and 
which  would  be  so  beautiful  in  our  eastern  parks, 
with  a  spread  on  the  ground  of  densely  foliaged 
limbs  perhaps  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and 
tapering  in  a  perfect  cone  to  the  highest  branch  in 
the  middle.  The  ram's  tracks  were  very  fresh  and 
a?  it  was  the  only  track  to  be  seen  in  the  newly 
fallen  snow  to  the  right  or  left  for  many  yards,  I 
entertained  the  hope  that  when  I  should  get  around 
the  juniper  I  might  catch  a  glimpse  of  him  beyond 
it.  So  I  carefully  crept  around  the  snow-covered 
bushy  base  of  the  tree,  both  barrels  cocked,  expect- 
ing every  instant  to  get  a  shot.  I  continued  to 
walk  around  the  tree  until  I  found  myself  on  the 
side  opposite  that  from  which  I  had  first  started  to 
go  around  it.  The  ram's  track  still  kept  ahead  of 
me  circling  the  juniper.  I  followed  carefully. 
When  I  was  three-quarters  of  the  way  around  the 
tree  I  was  amazed  that  I  had  not  previously 
noticed  his  track  on  that  side  of  it,  which  was  to 
my  left  when  I  first  commenced  to  go  around  it; 
but  as  he  kept  on  I  followed  directly  after  him. 
Imagine  my  surprise  and  high  disgust  to  find  when 
I  had  completed  the  circuit  of  the  tree  that  there 
was  the  ram's  track  in  my  own  boot  track.  No 
sign  of  him  anywhere;  only  the  evidence  of  long 
jumps  in  the  snow,  for  he  had  doubtless  started 

299 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

off  at  a  run  as  soon  as  he  got  my  scent.  Yet  I  had 
not  heard  a  sound.  I  then  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  that  particular  ram  was  not  for  me,  and  with 
hopes  still  high,  I  proceeded  to  try  to  find  another 
bunch  of  sheep. 

About  midday  I  ran  aross  a  mountain  lion's 
track,  practically  as  fresh  as  my  own.  Not  having 
recently  seen  any  sheep,  and  thinking  that  I  might 
possibly  get  a  glimpse  of  this  lion,  I  followed  him. 
He  soon  became  aware  of  the  fact,  and  proceeded 
to  have  some  sport  with  me,  for,  as  could  be 
easily  determined  from  the  prints  in  the  snow,  he 
would  wait  for  me  to  come  in  sight,  and  then 
would  trot  along  a  little  further,  get  another  point 
of  observation,  sit  down  and  wait  for  me  to  re- 
appear. The  country  was  rough,  and  I  did  not 
think  it  wise  to  make  the  loops  to  leeward  so  neces- 
sary in  still-hunting  moose  in  the  far  north,  to 
come  upon  the  game  from  an  unexpected  direction. 
After  following  the  lion  for  an  hour  or  more,  con- 
stantly expecting  to  see  him  before  he  could  see  me, 
and  at  a  moment  when,  unfortunately,  I  was  keep- 
ing my  eyes  glued  on  the  snow  trail  ahead  of  me, 
I  saw  out  of  the  corner  of  my  eye  a  dun-colored 
body  flash  from  a  tree  not  more  than  forty  yards 
distant.  Before  I  could  shoot  it  had  disappeared 
among  some  rocks.  I  afterward  found  that  this 

300 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

particularly  provoking  beast  had  been  sitting  on  a 
low  branch  of  a  tree  in  full  view  all  the  time.  Had 
I  raised  my  eyes  from  the  ground  no  doubt  I  would 
have  had  an  excellent  shot  and  would  have  had  a 
good  chance  to  add  to  my  list  of  American  big 
game  one  of  the  two  kinds  which  I  have  never 
been  privileged  to  kill ;  the  other  being  a  mountain 
goat. 

Thinking  that  luck  would  change  sooner  or 
later  I  ate  my  meager  lunch  and  made  for  camp 
over  a  country  which  I  had  not  yet  hunted.  I 
found  plenty  of  evidences  of  sheep  but  did  not  see 
one.  Finally,  however,  in  the  late  afternoon  I 
came  upon  the  track  of  the  biggest  sheep  that  I 
have  ever  trailed  in  my  life  and  to  my  surprise  and 
gratification  I  found  that  his  track  was  about  as 
fresh  as  my  own.  I  started  after  this  sheep  and 
had  not  followed  him  a  hundred  yards  before  I 
saw  him  climbing  the  rocks  ahead  of  me  at  a  great 
pace.  Before  I  could  cock  my  rifle  and  shoot,  he 
was  almost  on  the  sky  line,  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  yards  away.  I  am  afraid  that  in  my 
haste  I  saw  rather  too  much  of  the  front  sight  and 
sent  both  bullets  straight  over  his  back.  I  sup- 
posed from  his  movements  that  he  had  already 
found  me  out  and  was  trying  to  get  away. 
Imagine  my  surprise,  therefore,  when  as  I  was 

301 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

putting  two  new  cartridges  in  my  rifle,  the  ram 
reappeared  on  top  of  the  hill  and  without  a 
moment's  hesitation  returned  full  drive  on  his  back 
trail.  I  gleefully  said  to  myself,  "Luck  has 
changed  at  last,"  and  so  patiently  and,  as  I  thought, 
very  coolly,  waited  for  him  to  come  nearer,  mean- 
while admiring  and  counting  as  my  very  own  his 
magnificent  head.  On  he  came,  and  not  until  he  was 
within  ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  me  did  I  wave  my 
rifle  at  him  and  yell.  He  reared  on  his  hindlegs, 
the  most  startled  sheep  that  it  has  ever  been  my 
good  or  bad  fortune  to  see.  I  threw  the  rifle  to 
my  face  and  pulled  and  pulled  and  pulled.  I  know 
that  I  came  very  near  pulling  those  two  triggers 
off,  and  before  I  could  realize  what  had  happened, 
the  ram  made  a  lunge  into  the  thick  underbrush  at 
one  side  and  was  gone.  I  had  forgotten  to  cock 
either  barrel ! 

I  now  made  my  way  to  camp  as  fast  as  I  could 
leg  it,  with  my  hat  brim  well  down  over  my  eyes, 
determined  to  look  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the 
left,  for  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there 
was  no  use  trying  to  buck  against  luck  like  that.  I 
soon  arrived  at  camp,  and  hardly  waiting  for  din- 
ner, crawled  into  my  sleeping  bag,  like  Job  re- 
fusing to  be  comforted.  The  next  day  we  broke 
camp  and  went  on  to  Bozeman.  I  hope  that  that 

302 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

sheep  is  alive  to  this  day — at  least,  that  nobody 
else  ever  got  him. 


The  scene  of  the  other  day's  hunting  was  in  the 
upper  Hell  Roaring  country,  north  of  Yellow- 
stone Park.  I  think  the  territory  is  now  embraced 
within  the  Park  limits,  but  this  was  in  1883,  as  I 
remember,  and  the  Park  limits  then  were  different 
from  what  they  are  now.  This  story  antedates  its 
predecessor  by  several  years. 

Keller  and  I  had  made  an  early  start  from  camp 
on  horseback,  intending  to  hunt  on  the  high  divide 
which  separates  the  Hell  Roaring  waters  from 
those  of  Bear  Creek.  Toward  noon,  as  we  were 
riding  up  a  shamefully  steep  trail,  we  heard  a  noise 
in  the  brush  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  little  glade  in 
front  of  us,  and  suddenly  two-  great  black  backs 
appeared,  rushing  directly  toward  us.  "Bear"  was 
the  thought  which  popped  into  the  minds  of  both 
of  us  as  we  swung  out  of  our  saddles,  unconsciously 
throwing  our  reins  over  the  heads  of  the  horses. 
As  we  carried  our  rifles  in  those  days  in  a  sling 
hung  on  the  pommel  of  the  saddles,  they  were  in 
our  hands  ready  for  action  as  we  landed.  At  that 
moment  the  head  of  a  big  mountain  buffalo  burst 
through  the  underbrush  into  the  open  glade.  I 
have  always  been  a  quick  shot,  and  almost  as  quick 

303 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

as  a  flash  I  shot  straight  at  the  center  of  his  fore- 
head. The  rifle  I  was  using  was  an  extra  long- 
barreled  .45-60  Winchester,  with  which  I  am  glad 
to  be  able  to  say,  grizzly,  black  and  brown  bear, 
buffalo,  elk,  sheep,  antelope,  blacktail  deer,  white- 
tail  deer,  moose  and  caribou  have  been  killed.  The 
bullet  struck  fair  in  the  center  of  the  forehead,  as 
we  afterward  learned,  but  did  not  alter  the  speed  of 
the  buffalo  any  more  than  if  a  fly  had  alighted  on 
him.  At  that  moment  Keller  called  out,  uShoot 
the  second  buffalo!  Shoot  the  second  buffalo!" 
and  I  realized  then  what  I  had  not  before  seen, 
that  the  second  buffalo  was  a  much  larger  bull. 
Both  were  very  old  "stub  horns."  Keller,  who 
had  been  an  old  buffalo  hunter  on  the  Montana 
plains,  subsequently  said  that  it  was  the  largest  bull 
buffalo  he  had  ever  seen.  I  heard  him  shoot  once, 
and  then,  as  he  afterward  told  me — I  had  never 
seen  a  wild  buffalo  up  to  that  moment — he  leaned 
back  and  greatly  enjoyed  seeing  me  pump  bullets 
into  the  big  bull.  We  actually  had  to  jump  out 
of  the  way  of  those  buffalo  to  let  them  pass.  At 
that  short  range  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  miss. 
I  think  I  put  twelve  bullets  in  all  into  the  big  bull 
before  they  both  passed  out  of  sight  over  a  nearby 
ridge.  I  was  greatly  excited  and  wished  to  follow 
them,  but  Keller  said,  uNo,  let's  first  get  the  horses 

304 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

if  we  can."  In  about  five  minutes  we  found  them 
on  the  edge  of  a  precipice  snorting  and  trembling 
violently.  There  was  small  wonder  that  they  were 
frightened,  for,  beyond  doubt,  they  had  been  in 
danger  of  being  run  down  by  these  two  bulls. 

After  we  had  taken  the  saddles  off  the  horses 
and  picketed  them,  Keller  said,  "Now  it  is  time  to 
go  and  see  what  we  have  done.  I  could  see  the 
dust  fly  every  time  your  bullets  struck,  so  that  I  am 
pretty  sure  you  will  get  your  bull  all  right.  I  know 
that  I  will  get  mine  unless  my  bullet  struck  a  little 
too  far  back."  After  going  over  the  ridge  where 
the  buffalo  had  passed,  we  soon  saw  the  big  bull 
standing  up  against  a  stunted  pine  tree  in  a  rather 
remarkable  position.  He  was  standing  upon  his 
hind  feet  but  his  forelegs  seemed  to  be  doubled 
under  him.  He  did  not  move  at  our  approach, 
and  yet  he  looked  so  very  lifelike  that  we  dared  not 
go  near  him  for  fear  that  he  might  turn  on  us. 
Finally  I  got  a  stone,  while  Keller  stood  with  his 
rifle  ready,  and  throwing  the  stone  at  the  buffalo 
hit  him  fair  in  the  head.  He  did  not  move,  and 
on  going  up  to  him  we  found  that  in  falling  he  had 
fallen  against  this  stunted  pine  tree  and  was  sup- 
ported partly  by  it  and  partly  by  the  remnant  of 
an  old  stump  which  we  had  not  seen.  Having 
satisfied  ourselves  that  we  had  this  fellow  all  right 

305 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

we  went  on  a  little  further  and  found  the  other 
bull  slowly  walking  about,  but  very  "sick."  I  fired 
two  or  three  shots  into  him  and  brought  him  down. 
We  now  cut  out  such  portions  of  the  meat  as  we 
could  utilize  and  began  to  skin  out  the  heads.  Both 
buffalo  showed  the  effects  of  old  wounds,  and  while 
skinning  out  the  head  of  the  big  bull  we  cut  into 
a  horribly  smelling  sack  at  the  base  of  one  ear,  out 
of  which  sack  fell  a  small  round  bullet,  evidently 
fired  years  before  from  an  old  muzzle-loading 
Kentucky  rifle.  We  also  took  from  under  the 
hide  of  this  buffalo  an  old  5oograin  U.  S.  Service 
•45-caliber  bullet.  His  great  size  had  evidently 
made  him  a  target  before  he  finally  fell  to*  my  .45- 
60.  It  was  so  late  before  we  finished  our  work 
that  we  did  not  try  to  return  to  camp  that  night 
but  rolled  up  in  our  saddle  blankets  and  slept  under 
a  big  pine  not  far  away,  after  making  the  best 
supper  we  could  on  tough  buffalo  steak. 

The  next  morning,  after  quite  a  circus  with  the 
horses  when  we  tried  to  load  the  scalps  upon  them, 
we  made  our  way  to  camp,  I  very  happy  in  having 
killed  my  first  buffalo  and  that  this  was  not  only 
one  of  the  then  so-called  mountain  bison,  but  an 
unusually  large  bull. 

A  few  days  later  I  decided  to  set  out  on  foot 
alone  and  hunt  over  the  same  general  region  for 

306 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

sheep,  for  it  was  then  an  excellent  sheep  country. 
I  started  before  daybreak,  and  shortly  after  sun- 
rise passed  a  little  glade  or  grassy  open  space  in  a 
pine  forest,  in  which  open  space  had  fallen  a  good 
bull  elk,  which  Keller  and  I  had  killed  two 
weeks  before,  the  head  and  horns  of  which  were 
hung  up  quite  high  between  two  small  pine  trees 
which  grew  from  the  same  stump  on  the  edge  of 
the  little  glade.  As  I  passed  by  this  elk  carcass  I 
noticed  that  something  had  been  feeding  on  it. 
Whatever  animal  it  was,  it  had  been  so  dainty  in 
its  feeding  that  I  suspected  it  was  a  mountain  lion 
rather  than  a  bear,  although  I  knew  the  former's 
predilection  for  freshly  killed  meat.  All  day  I 
hunted  faithfully,  and  going  to  the  two  buffalo 
carcasses  on  the  high  divide  found  that  bears  had 
visited  and  were  feeding  on  them.  After  picking 
out  a  good  place  where  we  could  camp  when  we 
should  go  to  watch  these  carcasses,  as  we  had 
planned  to  do  as  soon  as  we  ascertained  that  bears 
had  found  them,  I  hunted  carefully  most  of  the 
way  back  to  camp.  I  do  not  remember  ever  hav- 
ing taken  a  much  longer  walk  than  on  this  occasion 
or  having  hunted  more  faithfully,  yet  not  a  hair  or 
a  hoof  of  living  animal  did  I  see.  Recognizing 
by  a  certain  big  red  cliff  that  I  was  near  the  spot 
where  the  elk  carcass  lay,  I  concluded,  as  it  was 

307 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

then  near  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  as  I  was 
tired,  that  I  would  go  over  to  the  elk  carcass  and 
watch  by  it  for  an  hour  or  two  on  the  remote 
chance  that  the  animal  which  had  been  feeding 
upon  the  carcass  might  return.  I  selected  a  spot 
well  to  the  leeward  of  the  carcass  in  the  edge  of 
the  slender  pine  trees  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
open  glade  from  that  nearest  to  which  the  elk  car- 
cass lay.  I  laid  my  rifle  against  a  little  sapling, 
and  sitting  down  leaned  back  against  a  rock,  which 
I  remember  was  exceedingly  comfortable  and  fitted 
my  back  exactly.  The  chance  that  a  bear  or  moun- 
tain lion  would  visit  the  carcass  at  that  time  of  the 
day  was  so  slight  that,  becoming  drowsy,  I  was 
very  willing  to  take  a  nap. 

How  long  I  slept  I  do  not  know.  I  remember 
getting  on  my  feet,  stretching  my  arms,  pulling  out 
my  watch,  looking  at  it  and  then  sleepily  forgetting 
what  time  it  was.  I  looked  at  my  watch  a  second 
time,  saying  to  myself,  "Five  o'clock !  I  had  better 
go  to  camp,"  took  another  stretch,  yawned  and 
then  turned  my  head  toward  the  little  open  space 
in  which  the  elk  carcass  lay. 

Over  on  the  other  side  of  the  little  opening  in 
the  pine  trees  was  a  large  grizzly  bear,  looking 
as  good-humored  and  as  inoffensive  as  any  bear 
which  we  have  in  our  Zoological  Gardens  in  Phil- 

308 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

adelphia.  The  wind  was  blowing  strongly  and 
directly  from  the  bear  toward  me,  which  accounts 
for  her  not  having  either  seen  or  smelt  me.  When 
I  first  saw  her — it  proved  to  be  an  old  she  bear — 
she  was  looking  directly  at  me.  I  think  she  must 
have  indistinctly  noticed  some  movement  on  my 
part.  Although  my  heart  was  in  my  throat  at  such 
an  awakening,  I  retained  enough  sense  not  to  move 
again,  for  I  had  not  yet,  figuratively  speaking,  com- 
pleted my  yawn,  and  my  arms  were  still  out- 
stretched. As  soon  as  she  turned  and  looked  in 
another  direction  I  reached  down  for  my  rifle, 
cocked  it  and  sprang  to  the  edge  of  the  opening. 
I  instinctively  knew  that  we  would  have  it  out  then 
and  there,  and  that  there  was  no  use  in  running. 
Leaning  up  against  a  small  pine  tree,  with  noth- 
ing except  it  between  the  bear  and  me,  I  watched 
her  walk  around  the  opposite  side  of  the  opening, 
which  was  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  steps 
across.  As  I  watched  her  the  bear  noticed  the 
skull  and  horns  of  the  elk  which  were  hung  up 
between  the  two  small  trees  as  described.  She 
swung  herself  easily  up  against  these  trees — her 
head  moving  constantly,  otherwise  I  would  have 
shot  long  before — and  made  an  ineffective  reach 
for  the  elk  head  and  horns.  Not  being  quite  able 
to  reach  them,  she  waddled  up  closer  to  the  tree, 

309 


Hunting  at  High  Altitude* 

tip-toed  and  got  hold  of  one  elk  horn  and  pulled 
the  skull  down  opposite  her  mouth,  evidently  ex- 
pecting to  find  the  head  full  of  maggots.  She  there- 
by wedged  the  horn  between  the  two  small  trees 
with  such  force  that  it  took  us  a  long  time  the  next 
day  to*  get  it  free.  We  had  cleaned  the  head  so 
carefully  that  she  was  disappointed  in  getting  her 
hors  d'azuvre  of  maggots.  With  a  disappointed 
munch  through  the  skull,  and  after  cuffing  it  with 
her  paws,  she  dropped  lazily,  but  gracefully,  to  the 
ground  and  made  straight  for  the  carcass,  there- 
fore almost  directly  toward  me.  She  placed  her 
forefeet  on  the  carcass,  first  turning  her  head 
toward  the  part  which  was  away  from  me,  and 
then  toward  the  end  which  was  nearest  me,  at 
which  moment  she  saw  me  for  the  first  time. 

Without  an  instant's  hesitation  and  with  her 
appearance  now  that  of  furious  rage,  her  little  eyes 
curiously  green,  she  charged  like  lightning,  utter- 
ing meanwhile  a  low  whine,  while  her  mouth  was 
wide  open.  I  jerked  my  rifle  down,  having  deter- 
mined to  put  it  in  her  mouth  and  pull  the  trigger 
when  she  should  reach  me,  because  I  wisely  con- 
cluded there  was  no  chance  of  checking  such  a 
charge  with  my  .45-60.  When  she  reached  a  point 
less  than  five  rifle  lengths  from  me  she  came  to  a 
sudden  halt,  with  her  feet  planted  well  before  her, 

310 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

and  looking  me  straight  in  the  face,  stood  stock 
still.  Whether  she  would  have  turned  tail  in  an- 
other instant  and  run  from  me  I  do  not  know.  It 
is  not  improbable. 

Here  was  the  opportunity  for  which  I  had 
waited  so  long,  for  it  was  the  only  moment  from 
the  time  my  eyes  first  fell  upon  her — and  they  did 
not  wander  very  far  from  her  during  this  time — 
during  which  she  kept  her  head  perfectly  still,  and 
I  did  not  dare  shoot  at  any  other  portion  of  her 
body.  I  threw  my  rifle  to  my  face  as  quickly  as 
I  could  and  fired  at  her  left  eye.  At  the  shot,  she 
arose  upon  her  hindfeet  and  danced  for  all  the 
world  like  a  trained  dancing  bear  back  to  the  spot 
where  the  elk  lay,  and  then  fell  backward  almost 
across  the  elk  carcass.  I  had  hit  her  rather  too 
high,  with  the  result  that  I  had  lifted  off  a  small 
portion  of  the  top  of  her  skull,  but  this  I  did  not 
know  then.  I  ran  up  to  her  thinking  to  finish  her 
off  with  a  second  shot.  Then  I  was  possessed  with 
a  desire  to  be  able  to  say  that  it  had  taken  only 
one  bullet  each  to  kill  my  first  and  second  grizzlies, 
for  I  had  killed  a  smaller  bear  several  weeks  pre- 
vious to  this.  So  I  stood  over  her  with  my  rifle 
pointed  at  her  head  and  in  glorious  excitement 
watched  her  struggles  grow  less  and  less  until  she 
lay  still.  I  then  walked  around  her,  about  the 

3" 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

proudest  youngster  in  that  part  or  probably  any 
other  part  of  the  country. 

Wishing  to  make  sure,  however,  that  she  was 
really  dead,  I  playfully  caught  hold  of  her  right 
hindleg — she  was  lying  almost  flat  on  her  back — 
and  gave  it  a  long,  strong  pull.  What  the  phy- 
siological effect  of  this  action  on  my  part  was  I 
do  not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  with  an  un- 
earthly sort  of  a  groan  she  rolled  over  on  her  side. 
This  was  too  much  for  me.  My  nerve  had  held  all 
right  until  then,  but  at  this  particular  moment  it 
oozed  out  somewhere.  All  I  can  remember  is 
that  I  took  out  through  the  woods  at  the  greatest 
gait  I  think  I  have  ever  employed,  distinctly 
hearing  the  bear  behind  me,  and  almost  feeling 
her  hot  breath  on  my  back  as  she  made  jump 
for  jump  with  me.  After  I  had  run  about  a 
hundred  yards,  as  far  as  I  could  at  that  gait,  I 
whirled  around,  for  my  nerve  or  what  was  left  of 
it  had  slowly  returned  to  me.  Somehow  I  had 
kept  hold  of  my  rifle,  and  I  was  prepared  to  do  or 
die.  To  my  utter  surprise,  there  was  no  bear  in 
sight.  I  sneaked  cautiously  and  shamefacedly  back 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  little  open  glade,  where 
I  found  the  bear  and  the  elk  lying  where  I  had  left 
them,  one  as  dead  as  the  other. 

This  bear  was  a  well-grown,  but  rather  lean 
312 


In  the  Old  Rockies 

female,  not  weighing  a  thousand  pounds  by  any 
means,  but  probably  weighing  between  four  hun- 
dred and  five  hundred  pounds.  In  fact,  she  was  a 
very  good-sized  grizzly — one  of  the  largest,  and 
certainly  the  tallest  which  I  have  ever  shot. 

Daniel  Moreau  Barringer. 


313 


IBEX  SHOOTING  IN  THE  THIAN  SHAN 
MOUNTAINS 

In  the  late  winter  of  1908,  Chew  and  I  decided 
on  a  shooting  trip  in  the  following  summer  to  the 
Thian  Shan  Mountains,  in  Chinese  Turkestan, 
where  we  knew  there  were  many  ibex — carrying  the 
largest  horns  to  be  found  anywhere — with  a  chance 
for  sheep  and  wapiti;  the  sheep  being  the  far- 
famed  Ovis  poli.  The  State  Department  had  our 
passports  vised  for  us  at  Pekin — thus  giving  us  the 
necessary  permission  to  travel  in  Mongolia — and 
sent  to  our  Embassy  in  London,  while  our  Am- 
bassador at  St.  Petersburg  got  for  us  permits  to 
import  rifles  and  cartridges  into  Russia,  together 
with  permission  to  travel  in  Russian  Turkestan. 

In  London  we  tried  to  get  some  visiting  cards 
with  our  names  in  Chinese  on  them,  but  were  unable 
to  do  so.  These  cards  are  of  thin  paper,  3^  x 
7^  inches,  white  on  one  side,  red  on  the  other, 
with  the  name  written  on  the  red  side  in  black  ink. 
It  is  important  that  the  name  on  the  card  should  be 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

exactly  like  the  name  on  the  passport.  These 
cards  are  left  at  every  opportunity. 

At  the  Army  and  Navy  stores  in  London  we 
bought  our  camp  beds,  folding  candle-lamps,  two 
large  tents,  two  small  shelter  tents  for  servants 
and  to  use  when  away  from  the  main  camp,  a  fold- 
ing table,  a  couple  of  camp  chairs  of  the  Roorkee 
pattern,  and  two  hot  water  plates,  which  later  we 
found  most  useful  when  the  weather  was  cold. 
We  also  bought  three  thermos  bottles  and  a  couple 
of  haversacks  to  carry  lunch  in.  My  battery  con- 
sisted of  a  double  360  rifle  by  Eraser  of  Edin- 
burgh, with  a  single  rifle  of  the  same  caliber  in  case 
of  accident,  and  a  shotgun.  I  had  a  pair  of  field 
glasses  and  a  large  telescope  by  Steward,  of  Lon- 
don. The  glasses  were  used  in  finding  game,  the 
telescope  in  examining  more  closely  the  game  when 
found,  and  also  in  watching  ibex  when  a  stalk  was 
impossible.  If  I  were  going  again,  I  should  take 
an  extra  pair  of  glasses  in  case  of  accident,  and  for 
the  men,  who  soon  learned  to  use  them.  A  couple 
of  pairs  of  good  shooting  boots  with  plenty  of  nails 
and  with  iron  heel-pieces  with  spikes,  completed 
our  outfit,  while  for  clothes  we  had  Norfolk  jackets 
and  knickerbockers  of  a  neutral  color. 

When  in  London  I  tried  to  get  an  interpreter 
who  could  speak  English  and  Russian,  but  with- 

315 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

out  success,  and  it  was  not  until  we  reached 
Moscow  that  we  engaged  a  man  who  had  good 
recommendations,  but  who  was  absolutely  incom- 
petent, besides  being  a  liar  and  a  thief.  This  is  a 
most  difficult  as  well  as  the  most  important  position 
to  fill,  as  few  Englishmen  speak  Russian  and  fewer 
still  Turki,  the  language  of  the  country.  I  think, 
however,  that  anyone  taking  this  trip  would  do 
well  to  give  up  the  idea  of  engaging  a  man  who 
could  act  both  as  interpreter  and  caravanbash  or 
caravan  leader,  contenting  himself  with  an  active 
young  man  who  could  speak  Russian  and  English. 
Such  a  man  could  be  gotten  through  any  of  the 
American  firms  doing  business  in  Russia. 

From  Moscow  the  train  runs  daily  to  Tashkent, 
making  the  trip  in  a  leisurely  manner  in  five  days, 
while  once  a  week  a  wagon  lit  is  put  on.  The  first- 
class  cars  are  very  comfortable.  Tashkent,  which 
means  "stone  camp,"  is  quite  a  large  town,  having 
a  population  of  170,000,  and  is  divided  into  the 
old  or  native  city  and  the  new  or  Russian  city. 
The  hotel  is  good,  though  expensive,  and  there  are 
good  shops,  where  we  bought  some  cocoa  as  well 
as  other  supplies,  which  we  could  just  as  well  have 
gotten  further  on  and  so  have  saved  much  time  and 
trouble. 

We  bought  a  tarantas  for  ourselves,  as  well  as 
316 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

a  baggage  wagon  for  our  outfit  and  men,  for  we 
engaged  here  as  servant  and  cook  a  man  who 
could  speak  Russian  and  Kirghiz,  and  who  proved 
most  excellent.  A  tarantas  has  a  body  built  on 
poles  stretched  between  the  front  and  back  axles, 
without  springs  of  any  kind,  except  such  as  are 
furnished  by  the  yielding  of  the  poles,  which  is  not 
much,  and  has  a  hood  like  a  mail  phaeton,  with  a 
place  at  the  back  for  a  trunk,  as  well  as  a  seat  for 
the  driver.  It  is  drawn  by  three  horses  put  to  in 
the  usual  Russian  fashion,  with  the  center  horse 
trotting  in  the  shafts,  the  other  two  galloping. 
The  tarantas  for  the  servants  and  luggage  was 
longer  and  fitted  with  a  canvas  cover,  like  an  old- 
fashioned  prairie  schooner. 

The  road  to  Kuldja  and  the  Przevalsk  is  a  post 
road,  the  charge  being  three  kopecks  per  horse  per 
verst,  with  a  few  kopecks  to  the  driver.  A  kopeck 
is  one-half  cent;  a  verst,  two-thirds  of  a  mile.  This 
includes  a  tarantas,  but  we  had  our  own,  to  save 
time  and  trouble  in  changing  luggage  at  each  post 
house,  as  we  usually  did  five  or  six  stages  a  day. 
The  road  is  both  dusty  and  rough;  so  rough,  in 
fact,  that  some  quinine  pills  in  a  bottle  were  re- 
duced to  powder — although  packed  in  a  medicine 
case  in  my  trunk,  the  medicine  case  being  rolled 
in  flannel  underclothes — while  the  long  lines  of 

317 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

camels,  often  two  hundred  in  a  caravan,  and  the 
wagons  transporting  supplies  grind  the  rich  soil 
to  the  finest  powder,  which  invades  everything. 

The  post  houses  are  very  clean  and  neat,  having 
two  rooms  for  travelers,  a  large  one  with  a  smaller 
opening  off  it;  the  walls  are  white-washed  and  the 
floors  of  brick,  while  in  the  larger  room  hangs  an 
ikon,  a  picture  of  the  Tsar  and  a  calendar  in 
Russian  of  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company. 
At  the  post  houses  one  can  usually  get  eggs  and 
the  brown  bread,  together  with  the  ever-present 
samovar  for  tea.  A  tariff,  of  course  in  Russian, 
hangs  in  each  room,  stating  the  prices  of  the  samo- 
vars, which  was  usually  ten  kopecks,  and  other 
charges,  together  with  the  cost  of  repairs  to  tar- 
antasses.  A  paper  should  be  procured  from  the 
Chief  of  Posts,  either  at  St.  Petersburg  or  Tash- 
kent, giving  the  right  of  way  over  everything  but 
the  mails.  This  is  important,  as  the  keepers  of  the 
post  houses  have  a  supreme  contempt  for  everyone 
but  officers.  Although  it  was  midsummer,  the 
windows,  as  a  rule,  were  sealed  by  strips  of  paper 
pasted  over  them,  and  I  am  afraid  we  were 
thought  mad  in  having  them  opened. 

We  had  intended  making  Kuldja  our  starting 
point,  but  when  in  Tashkent  were  advised  to  go  to 
Przevalsk,  on  the  eastern  end  of  Issa  Kul,  a  lake 

318 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

about  one  hundred  miles  long,  as  here  we  were 
told  were  the  best  hunting  grounds.  Ten  days' 
easy  travel  brought  us  to  Przevalsk,  where  we 
were  very  well  received  by  the  Governor,  and  spent 
five  days  getting  together  our  hunters,  ponies,  and 
other  things.  Then,  just  as  we  were  about  to 
leave  for  the  shooting  grounds,  we  received  word 
that  shooting  was  forbidden,  and  that  we  must 
return.  We  asked  permission  to  cross  the  border 
into  China  at  Naryn  Kul,  a  couple  of  days  away, 
but  even  this  was  denied  us,  and  we  were  delayed 
for  more  than  two  weeks  getting  the  necessary  per- 
mission from  our  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg. 

The  day  after  our  arrival,  the  Governor  called 
upon  us,  asking  us  to  lunch  with  him  next  day, 
which  we  did,  and  while  waiting  for  lunch  he  had 
his  servant  produce  several  heads  of  ibex  and 
sheep,  which  he  offered  to  give  me,  saying,  "Now 
you  need  not  go  to  the  fatigue  of  shooting  these 
yourself.  If  you  want  more  I  shall  send  for  them." 
It  was  difficult  to  make  him  understand  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  idea  of  sport,  more  especially  as  every  word 
had  to  go  through  the  interpreter,  who  could  not 
understand  it  either. 

The  delay  was  all  the  more  exasperating,  as  we 
could  see  our  hunting  grounds  from  our  bedroom 
window,  and  every  day  native  hunters  were  bring- 

319 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ing  in  heads  of  Ovis  poll,  ibex  and  roe  deer  for 
the  Director  of  the  School,  who  also  supplied 
museums,  while  everyone  frankly  admitted  that 
there  was  no  reason  why  we  should  not  go  wher- 
ever we  wished. 

At  length,  on  July  3,  after  having  been  at 
Przevalsk  since  June  1 6,  we  received  permission  to 
cross  the  border  at  Naryn  Kul,  and  were  so  glad 
to  be  underway  once  more  that  we  started  at  once, 
traveling  well  on  into  the  night.  The  next  day 
brought  us  to  Karakara,  in  the  middle  of  a  large 
plain,  where  for  three  months  in  the  summer  a 
great  fair  is  annually  held.  Hither  come  the 
nomadic  tribes  from  considerable  distances — 
Kirghiz  and  Kazaks,  to  purchase  for  the  follow- 
ing year  all  articles  which  they  cannot  make  for 
themselves.  The  Fair  is  laid  out  in  streets  with 
wooden  booths,  each  street  or  portion  of  a  street 
being  devoted  to  one  article — such  as  saddlery, 
cooking  pots,  and  so  on — while  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town  a  brisk  trade  is  carried  on  in  horses, 
camels,  cattle,  sheep  and  goats.  We  spent  the  day 
here,  wandering  through  the  bazaars,  and  could 
not  but  admire  the  manner  in  which  the  bazaar 
master  kept  order. 

In  the  evening  we  traveled  on  again,  and  in  the 
morning,  just  as  we  neared  Naryn  Kul,  had  a 

320 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

superb  view  of  Khan  Tengri,  rising  in  a  snow-clad 
cone  to  24,000  feet.  So  high  were  the  neighbor- 
ing mountains  that  it  did  not  appear  to  tower 
much  above  them.  At  Naryn  Kul  we  found  a 
German  baron,  with  one  of  Hagenbeck's  men, 
hunting  on  the  Muzart,  a  river  running  into  the 
Tekkes  just  beyond  the  boundary.  Of  course,  we 
did  not  wish  to  conflict  with  them,  so  after  a  con- 
sultation with  our  hunters,  we  decided  to  go  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Kok-Su,  a  large  river  running 
into  the  Tekkes  from  the  south,  as  this  was  the 
only  other  place  where  we  would  find  Ovis  poll. 
We  got  away  at  noon  the  next  day,  and  soon 
crossed  the  boundary,  here  unmarked,  into  China 
or  Katai,  as  it  is  called,  from  which  no  doubt 
Marco  Polo  got  the  name  Cathay.  The  Tekkes 
valley,  where  we  entered  it,  is  about  forty  miles 
wide  and  covered  knee-deep  with  rich  grass,  while 
on  either  side  rise  the  snow-covered  mountains 
upon  whose  higher  slopes  grow  forests  of  spruce. 
While  I  have  never  been  in  Kashmir,  I  have  been 
told  by  men  who  have  seen  both,  that  the  valley  of 
the  Tekkes  far  surpasses  it,  not  only  in  grandeur, 
but  in  beauty,  and  I  cannot  imagine  a  more  beau- 
tiful sight  than  this  valley  with  the  darker  green 
of  the  forests  against  the  vivid  green  of  the  lower 
slopes,  which  look  as  if  cared  for  by  a  giant: 

321 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

gardener,  while  above  all  glaciers  and  snow-fields 
glisten  in  the  sun. 

At  the  end  of  the  next  day's  march,  we  sent  back 
the  wagons  to  Naryn  Kul,  as  the  Agoyas,  one  of 
the  numerous  rivers  running  into  the  Tekkes,  was 
impassable  for  them;  and  for  the  next  four  days 
we  traveled  eastward  down  the  valley  with  our 
stuff  loaded  on  bullocks,  getting  fresh  ones  each 
morning,  as  well  as  fresh  ponies,  so  that  we  could 
make  long  marches,  not  having  to  think  about  our 
animals. 

The  usual  plan  was  to  send,  ahead  to  the  next 
village  an  orderly,  or  jigit,  who  would  have  two 
yuartas  awaiting  us — thus  saving  pitching  our 
tents — with  a  sheep  neatly  butchered  for  our  use 
and  fresh  transport  for  the  next  day.  The  usual 
price  was  twenty-five  cents  a  day  for  each  animal, 
including  the  wages  of  the  men. 

In  describing  the  yuartas  and  people  I  cannot 
do  better  than  quote  William  de  Rubenquis,  a 
monk,  who  visited  Tartary  in  1253,  and  who  in 
his  report  to  St.  Louis  of  France  wrote  as  follows : 
"They  have  no  settled  habitation,  neither  know 
they  to-day  where  they  shall  lodge  to-morrow. 
Each  of  their  captains,  according  to  the  number  of 
his  people,  knows  the  boundary  of  his  pasture  and 
where  he  ought  to  feed  his  cattle,  summer  and 

322 


Ibex  Shooting  In  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

winter,  spring  and  autumn.  Their  houses  they 
raise  upon  a  round  foundation  of  wickers,  arti- 
ficially wrought  and  compacted  together;  the  roof 
consisting  of  wickers  also,  meeting  above  in  one 
little  roundel,  which  they  cover  with  white  (or 
hlack)  felt.  This  cupola  they  adorn  with  a  variety 
of  pictures." 

On  our  way  down  the  Tekkes  we  were  met  by 
an  escort  sent  by  a  Manchu  General,  Fu  Chen,  who 
was  inspecting  the  country,  asking  us  to  lunch  with 
him  at  his  yuarta.  Of  course  we  accepted,  although 
we  knew  little  of  Chinese  etiquette  save  to  keep  on 
our  hats  and  not  to  drink  the  ceremonial  tea  until 
we  were  leaving,  while  if  he  drank  his  first  it  was 
a  sign  the  interview  was  at  an  end.  The  lunch 
lasted  from  one  until  five,  with  twenty-eight  courses 
and  quantities  of  cognac,  ending  with  music  by  his 
private  band,  and  it  was  well  on  in  the  next  day 
before  we  could  think  of  food  again,  politeness 
requiring  that  we  should  eat  of  each  dish.  No 
sooner  was  lunch  over  and  we  had  reached  our 
yuarta  than  a  servant  appeared  with  Fu  Chen's 
card  and  a  present  of  a  sheep  and  some  flour  and 
rice;  so  we  prepared  to  receive  our  guest,  at  the 
same  time  getting  out  some  American  tobacco  as  a 
present  in  return.  For  his  amusement  we  showed 
him  some  books  with  illustrations,  and  both  he  and 

323 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  Russian  aide  were  much  interested  in  Lang- 
don's  book  on  the  British  Mission  to  Tibet,  as  Fu 
Chen  had  met  Younghusband  in  Kashgar.  He  at 
once  recognized  Younghusband's  picture,  and  ex- 
amined over  and  over  again  the  illustrations  of 
the  Sacred  City  of  Lhasa. 

We  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  our  packs, 
as  the  people  had  had  no  practice  with  the  dif- 
ferent shaped  bundles,  their  principal  experience 
being  in  moving  the  yuartas  from  place  to  place, 
and  this  they  did  very  well,  putting  the  frame- 
work of  the  yuarta  on  one  bullock  and  the  felt 
covering  on  another.  The  better  packers  used  a 
hitch  not  unlike  the  diamond,  taking  up  the  slack 
from  time  to  time  with  a  short  stick.  With  the 
horses  it  was  even  worse,  as  the  only  pack  saddles 
to  be  found  were  made  to  fit  the  round  backs  of  the 
bullocks,  and  this  caused  the  packs  to  slip  badly. 
As  the  bullocks  do  not  sweat,  their  backs  do  not 
gall  as  soon  or  as  badly  as  the  backs  of  the  ponies. 

When  we  reached  the  Kok-Su,  we  turned  south 
into  the  mountains,  the  path  winding  up  a  small 
stream  until  we  left  it  to  climb  in  the  afternoon 
to  a  tableland  about  7,000  feet  above  sea  level, 
where  we  found  the  Kirghiz  encamped  in  numbers, 
with  thousands  of  horses  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
sheep.  These  people  live  principally  on  mutton 

324 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

and  kumyss,  fermented  mare's  milk,  which  we  soon 
got  to  like  and  which  is  mildly  intoxicating.  Here 
I  spent  a  couple  of  days  wrangling  with  the  head 
man  about  transport  for  the  next  six  weeks,  while 
Chew  killed  a  roebuck  and  saw  the  track  of  a  tiger 
in  a  canon. 

Marco  Polo,  writing  about  1275,  says  of  the 
Tartars:  "The  women  do  the  buying  and  selling, 
and  whatever  is  necessary  to  provide  for  the 
husband  and  household,  for  the  men  all  lead  the 
life  of  gentlemen,  troubling  themselves  about 
nothing  but  hunting  and  hawking,  and  looking 
after  their  goshawks  and  falcons,  unless  it  be  the 
practice  of  warlike  exercises. 

"They  live  on  milk  and  meat,  which  their  herds 
supply,  and  on  the  produce  of  the  chase,  and  they 
eat  all  kinds  of  flesh,  including  horses  and  dogs 
and  Pharaoh's  rats,  of  which  last  there  are  great 
numbers  in  burrows  on  the  plains." 

Pharaoh's  rats  no  doubt  are  marmots,  which 
are  very  plentiful  and  which  spoiled  many  a  stalk, 
as  their  shrill  whistle  put  every  animal  on  its  guard. 
From  all  we  could  learn,  not  only  on  the  Tekkes, 
but  at  Kuldja,  tigers  are  fairly  plentiful  in  parts 
of  both  Russian  and  Chinese  Turkestan,  but  are 
very  seldom  shot,  none  of  the  half  dozen  skins 
which  I  examined  having  a  bullet  hole.  As  a  rule, 

325 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

they  inhabit  the  great  tracts  of  khamish  or  reeds, 
where  they  prey  upon  the  wild  pigs  and  are  usually 
taken  by  poison.  The  Belgian  fathers  at  Kuldja 
told  us  that  several  dozen  skins  are  every  year 
taken  in  the  neighborhood  of  Urumtse,  about  four 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  eastward. 

Almost  every  chief  among  the  Kirghiz  had  one 
or  two  golden  eagles,  which  they  used  for  killing 
game  such  as  roe  deer,  foxes,  and,  I  am  told,  even 
wolves;  but  many  of  these  birds  seem  to  be1  kept 
more  for  ornament  than  for  sport,  as  we  never 
could  get  the  Kirghiz  to  fly  them — although  it  is 
only  fair  to>  say  that  the  Fathers  at  Kuldja  told  us 
that  they  had  often  seen  them  used.  On  the  plains 
the  common  little  hawk,  like  a  sparrow-hawk,  was 
often  carried  on  the  wrist. 

On  the  second  afternoon  I  rode  over  to>  a  place 
where  there  were  said  to  be  roe,  but  saw  only  a 
couple  of  does.  On  the  way,  while  riding  along  a 
hillside,  we  saw  a  couple  of  little  hawks  sitting  on 
a  tree  some  distance  off,  upon  which  my  men 
spread  out,  calling  at  the  same  time  to  the  hawks, 
which  at  once  began  flying  in  circles  over  us.  As 
at  that  time  I  could  not  speak  a  word  of  the 
language,  I  could  not  imagine  what  was  their 
object,  until  a  little  bird  was  put  up  out  of  the 
grass,  when  one  of  the  hawks  immediately  flew  at 

326 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

it,  but  missed  it,  when  the  bird  darted  in  between 
my  horse's  feet,  as  I  sat  watching  the  chase.  I 
let  the  bird  remain  safely  where  it  was  in  the 
grass  at  the  horse's  feet,  and  we  went  on,  having 
seven  other  flights,  but  in  each  case  the  little  birds 
escaped  either  among  rocks  or  into  bushes.  On 
many  other  occasions  when  we  saw  hawks  they 
came  to  the  call  of  our  natives. 

At  last  I  arranged  for  the  necessary  horses,  two- 
yuartas  and  a  flock  of  thirty  sheep  for  food,  and 
the  next  day  we  were  again  underway  up  a  narrow 
valley,  whose  sides  were  covered  with  pine.  Up 
and  up  we  went,  until  noon,  when  a  halt  was  made 
at  the  last  wood,  where  enough  was  gathered  for 
the  night;  then  on  again  over  a  pass,  where  the 
ponies  floundered  through  snow  to  their  bellies 
until,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  we  dropped  into 
a  little  valley,  making  camp  at  the  foot  of  the 
glacier  in  a  meadow  literally  purple  with  pansies. 

After  the  day's  march,  the  ponies  are  not  let 
graze  at  once,  but  are  tied  up  for  two  or  three 
hours.  I  asked  the  cause  of  this,  and  was  told 
that  if  a  tired  pony  was  turned  loose  he  would 
take  the  edge  off  his  hunger  and  then  lie  down  for 
the  night,  while  if  he  rested  first,  he  would  eat  a 
good  meal.  The  only  time  a  pony  was  turned 
loose  at  once  he  did  just  as  they  said. 

327 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

So  far  we  had  seen  no  game,  but  the  next  morn- 
ing a  little  herd  of  ibex,  high  up  on  the  mountain, 
caused  the  glasses  to  be  used,  only  to  show  that 
they  were  all  females  and  young.  Further  on  we 
passed  several  skulls  of  sheep,  killed  in  the  winter 
by  wolves,  and  so  felt  that  at  last  we  were  reach- 
ing the  game  we  had  come  so  far  to  find.  Another 
day  brought  us  to  a  place  called  Karagai  Tash, 
meaning  Stone  Pines,  from  a  range  of  hills  whose 
sides  had  been  eroded  by  wind  and  weather  until, 
in  the  distance,  they  looked  like  pine  trees.  Here 
we  made  a  permanent  camp,  turning  in  that  night 
with  hopes  high  for  the  morrow ;  but  a  snowstorm 
for  the  next  three  days  kept  us  in  our  tents,  where 
most  of  the  time  was  spent  in  bed,  as  we  were  well 
above  timber  line  and  had  for  fuel  only  a  few 
shrubs,  helped  out  with  horse  and  cow  dung. 

Khudai  Kildi,  my  hunter,  was  quite  a  personage. 
Belonging  to  the  Kara,  or  Black  Kirghiz,  he  had 
a  profound  contempt  for  Kazaks  and  common  Kir- 
ghiz, both  of  whom  he  used  to  order  about,  often 
enforcing  his  commands  with  a  beating  from  the 
heavy  riding  whip  he  always  carried.  A  fine  look- 
ing, dignified  man  of  fifty,  he  stood  over  six  feet 
and  must  have  weighed  over  two  hundred.  On  his 
left  arm  he  carried  the  scars  of  a  fight  he  had  with 
a  bear  when  still  a  young  man,  and  one  day,  while 

328 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

we  were  having  lunch  on  the  mountain  tops,  he 
told  me  most  graphically  by  signs  how  he  had 
caught  the  bear  by  the  ear  and  killed  him  with  his 
knife.  The  sheath  knife  he  carried  had  a  blade 
about  seven  inches  long,  and  once  a  week  would 
have  an  extra  sharp  edge  put  on  it,  so  that  he 
could  use  it  to  shave  his  head. 

At  last  it  cleared,  and  at  daybreak  I  was  off 
with  Khudai  Kildi  in  search  of  ibex.  We  had  not 
ridden  a  mile  down  the  narrow  valley,  when  he 
pointed  out  a  little  herd  feeding  above  us  on  the 
hillside,  only  to  find  that  again  they  were  all 
females.  While  we  were  having  lunch,  about  1 1 
o'clock,  Khudai  Kildi  spied  three  ibex  far  off  on 
the  sky  line  among  some  patches  of  snow,  and  we 
settled  ourselves  for  a  long  wait,  as  they  were  in 
an  unstalkable  position,  and  were  not  likely  to 
move  until  afternoon.  The  fates  were  kind  to  us, 
as  they  soon  got  up  and  walked  over  the  ridge. 
Leaving  the  man  with  the  horses,  Khudai  and  I 
went  up  another  nullah  and  over  the  top,  but  could 
see  nothing  of  them  until  we  were  well  down  the 
slope  on  the  far  side,  when  out  they  walked  some 
distance  below  us  in  full  sight,  but  out  of  range,  and 
it  became  a  case  of  "belly  down  on  frozen  drift" 
for  over  an  hour  in  the  cold  wind  that  chilled  us 
to  the  bone. 

329 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

At  last  they  moved  down  under  a  ledge, 
and  we  crawled  down  until  I  could  see  one  lying 
just  below  me  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  away.  I 
was  keen  to  get  him,  as  well  as  to  let  off  for  the 
first  time  my  new  double  360  Fraser,  so  waiting 
until  I  had  my  wind — we  were  over  13,000  feet 
up — I  fired,  giving  him  the  second  barrel  as  he 
struggled  to  his  feet,  knocking  him  over  the  ledge. 
Letting  the  other  two  go,  as  I  saw  they  were  much 
smaller,  we  slid  down  the  loose  shale  to  find  my 
first  ibex  lying  dead  in  a  little  meadow  of  wild 
flowers — not  a  large  head,  for  the  Thian  Shan,  but 
forty-six  inches  with  heavy  horns — very  good  to 
begin  with. 

Another  successful  day  after  ibex  occurred  soon 
after  this  on  a  river  called  the  Musteban,  which 
flowed  into  the  Kok-Su.  I  had  left  the  main  camp 
for  a  few  days'  shooting  and  had  reached  our 
camping  ground  near  sunset;  while  the  supper  was 
cooking  Khudai  Kildi  and  I  were  hard  at  work,  I 
with  the  telescope,  he  with  the  glasses,  spying  the 
slopes  high  above  us.  We  were  soon  rewarded  by 
seeing  several  hundred  ibex,  among  and  above 
which  was  a  large  herd  of  males.  Early  next 
morning  we  started  on  our  ponies — with  a  man  to 
hold  the  horses  when  the  climbing  began,  as  well 
as  to  carry  the  lunch  and  a  thermos  bottle  of  cocoa. 

330 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

Our  ride  was  a  long  one,  as  we  had  to  avoid  a 
rather  nasty  ford,  and  had  not  gone  more  than 
an  hour  from  camp  when  Khudai,  looking  over  a 
bank,  pointed  out  a  couple  of  roebuck  lying  asleep 
on  a  little  knoll  directly  below  me.  As  we  were 
still  a  long  way  from  the  ibex,  I  took  a  shot  at  the 
larger  of  the  two,  the  only  result  being  that  his 
head  sunk  to  the  moss,  while  a  quick  second  barrel 
accounted  for  the  second.  I  felt  that  this  was 
rather  a  good  beginning.  Covering  them  with  a 
great  coat  to  keep  off  vultures,  we  kept  on  until 
we  could  see  the  ibex  among  the  rocks  on  the  other 
side  of  a  great  basin.  Here  we  left  the  horses  out 
of  sight  and  placed  the  man  where  he  could  signal 
if  the  herd  moved.  The  climb  up  the  sliding  shale 
was  hard  work,  the  last  couple  of  hundred  yards 
being  through  deep  soft  snow;  but  at  last  we 
reached  the  top  and  began,  our  stalk  on  the  ibex 
lying  among  the  broken  rocks  far  below  us.  Very 
carefully  we  made  our  way  down,  an  occasional 
look  with  the  glass  showing  the  man  where  we  had 
left  him.  This  side  of  the  mountain  was  broken 
by  small  cliffs  about  twenty  feet  high,  but  quite  as 
effectual  as  if  they  were  much  higher.  At  last  our 
descent  was  blocked  by  a  small  ibex,  so  back  we 
had  to  climb,  almost  to  the  top  and  down  another 
chimney.  Carefully  looking  over  the  rocks,  we 

331 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

saw  the  ibex,  fully  forty  in  number,  lying  about  the 
rocks. 

For  half  an  hour  we  in  turn  used  the  glasses 
to  pick  out  the  best  heads,  far  from  an  easy 
job  when  an  inch  or  two  makes  such  a  differ- 
ence, and  decided  on  a  little  bunch  of  six  that 
were  directly  below  us.  Of  these  I  chose  the  two 
which  to  my  mind  had  the  longest  horns,  and  then 
asked  Khudai's  advice  in  a  whisper.  He  took  six 
little  stones,  arranging  them  in  the  same  positions 
as  the  ibex  were  lying,  and  chose  the  two  which  I 
had  picked.  Taking  a  fine  sight,  as  they  were 
almost  directly  under  us,  I  got  the  first  one  with  the 
right  barrel  and  wounded  the  second  as  he  was 
dropping  out  of  sight  over  the  cliff.  It  took  us 
some  time  to  get  down  to  the  first  ibex,  which  had 
never  moved — a  lucky  thing,  as  if  he  had  moved 
at  all,  he  would  have  rolled  some  thousand  feet 
further  down.  As  it  was,  we  had  a  hard  time 
getting  off  his  head  and  skin  on  the  narrow  ledge. 

By  this  time  it  was  well  on  in  the  day,  and  the 
other  ibex  could  be  seen  very  sick,  lying  under  a 
rock  some  distance  away  at  the  foot  of  a  high  wall 
of  rock.  He  heard  us  coming  over  the  sliding 
shale,  but  was  too  weak  and  stiff  to  climb  the  face 
of  the  cliff,  although  he  made  a  gallant  attempt. 
.Our  lunch  tasted  very  good  about  4  o'clock,  after 

332 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

we  had  struggled  up  the  mountain  and  down  the 
other  side  with  our  heavy  loads,  and  we  reached 
camp  at  7  o'clock,  picking  up  the  roebuck  on, 
the  way. 

The  first  ibex  measured  43  24  inches,  the  second 
46^2  inches,  while  the  roe  were  13^  and  12^/2 
inches. 

Of  course,  we  were  very  anxious  to  get  sheep, 
of  which  a  few  were  still  to  be  found  on  the  rolling 
plains  to  the  eastward,  and  after  much  hard  work 
and  some  weeks  devoted  to  them,  Chew  got  a  fair 
head,  while  I  was  unsuccessful,  as  I  could  not  get 
within  shooting  distance  of  the  only  bunch  of  rams 
I  saw.  The  rams  were  very  wild,  and  at  this  time 
of  year  Were  in  little  bands  by  themselves,  usually 
occupying  such  a  position  that  they  could  not  be 
approached  nearer  than  half  a  mile,  often  not  so 
close.  I  think  their  wildness  was  due  more  to 
danger  from  wolves  than  from  man,  as  they  were 
seldom  hunted  by  men,  but  were  continually  dis- 
turbed by  the  very  large  wolves  which  abound  in 
this  part  of  the  mountain,  while  the  numerous 
skeletons  of  old  rams  showed  the  toll  the  wolves 
took.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  if  a  wolf  can  get 
within  eight  hundred  yards  of  a  ram  he  could  run 
him  down. 

The  wolves  were  much  like  our  timber  wolf, 

333 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

although  some  were  darker,  and  several  times  we 
saw,  among  the  horses,  yearlings  and  two-year- 
olds,  whose  flanks  and  hindlegs  had  ugly  wounds. 
The  old  rams  are  the  easiest  prey  for  the  wolves, 
as  the  great  weight  of  their  horns  causes  them  to 
sink  deeper  into  the  snow  or  bog,  and  although  I 
kept  a  sharp  lookout,  I  never  saw  the  skeleton  of 
a  ewe  or  young  ram.  This  would  be  explained  to 
a  certain  extent  by  the  fact  that  the  heads  of  these 
would  not  be  so  easily  seen.  We  saw  numerous 
ewes  and  young  rams  which  were  comparatively 
tame. 

Chew  afterward  got  a  very  fine  ram  with  horns 
55  inches  on  the  curve  and  49  inches  from  tip  to 
tip.  I  noticed  that  this  animal  had,  as  usual,  very 
thick  skin  over  the  nose,  no*  doubt  as  a  protection 
in  fighting;  and  in  Kuldja  I  also  noticed  that  the 
rams  of  the  domestic  sheep  kept  for  fighting  had 
this  feature  very  highly  developed.  These  rams 
were  kept  solely  for  fighting,  just  as  game  cocks  are 
in  other  parts  of  the  world;  and  one  morning  we 
offered  a  prize  for  the  best  ram.  The  rams,  with 
their  handlers,  accompanied  by  numerous  backers, 
soon  arrived  and  were  placed  about  twenty  yards 
apart,  being  let  go  at  the  same  time.  As  soon  as 
released  they  ran  at  each  other  with  surprising 
speed,  coming  together  with  great  force  and  a  loud 

334 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

crash;  then,  of  their  own  accord,  they  backed  fur- 
ther away,  until  forty  yards  separated  them,  when 
they  would  again  come  together,  repeating  this 
until  one  was  groggy,  which  usually  occurred  after 
four  or  five  rushes. 

For  the  next  two  weeks  we  hunted  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Kok-Su,  some  of  the  time  being 
storm-bound  or  unable  to  hunt  on  account  of  the 
clouds  being  low  on  the  mountains.  During  this 
time  I  shot  six  ibex,  the  best  head  being  fifty 
inches,  while  the  smallest  was  forty-six.  I  could 
have  shot  a  great  many  more  if  I  had  wished  to  do 
so.  This  was  not  as  well  as  I  should  have  done, 
but  I  was  very  unfortunate  in  having  my  glasses 
washed  away  while  crossing  a  river,  leaving  me 
only  the  big  telescope,  which  I  could  not  use  for 
quick  work,  and  often  I  was  not  sure  of  getting 
the  best  head  from  a  herd  of  ibex  about  to  move 
off,  as  the  difference  between  fifty  inches  and  fifty- 
four  inches  is  not  easily  detected  at  two  hundred 
yards. 

By  this  time  our  ponies  were  very  footsore  and 
thin,  and  we  decided  to  go  down  to  the  Kirghiz 
encampments  to  renew  our  supply,  and  once  more 
our  men  were  reveling  in  kumyss,  while  we  were 
forced,  from  politeness,  to  drink  the  tea  offered  to 
us  as  a  delicacy.  This  tea  is  compressed  into  bricks 

335 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

about  nine  inches  long  by  five  wide  and  a  couple 
of  inches  thick,  a  piece  of  which  is  cut  off  much  in 
the  same  way  as  plug  tobacco.  The  tea  itself  is 
quite  good  to  Western  tastes,  but  when  a  lump  of 
salt  and  some  rancid  butter  is  added  to  the  brew,  it 
leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

We  spent  a  week  at  this  camp,  which  was  on  a 
river  called  Jilgalong,  once  a  famous  place  for 
wapiti,  but  now  full  of  the  immense  herds  of  horses 
and  sheep  that  the  natives  were  pasturing  here. 
Our  camp  was  beside  a  river,  running  clear  and 
cold,  which  should  have  contained  trout,  but,  like 
all  rivers  running  from  the  glaciers  into  the 
Tekkes,  had  no  fish.  The  only  game  was  roe  deer, 
of  which  we  shot  several,  usually  by  driving  them 
up  one  of  the  numerous  nullahs.  These  roe  are  a 
much  larger  animal  than  their  western  relatives, 
standing  from  thirty  to  thirty-four  inches  at  the 
shoulder,  with  horns  about  fourteen  inches  long. 
There  were  some  black  game  scattered  among  the 
hills,  but  without  a  dog  it  was  useless  to  try  to 
find  them.  In  the  scrub  bordering  the  Tekkes,  and 
more  especially  on  the  islands  in  the  stream,  there 
were  plenty  of  pheasants,  similar  to  the  common 
English  variety,  with  a  white  ring  around  the  neck. 
On  the  plains  there  were  a  few  bustard,  both  great 
and  small,  but  very  few  ducks  or  geese. 

336 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

We  were  very  much  disappointed  in  not  finding 
wapiti  in  Jilgalong,  where  ten  years  ago  there  were 
plenty,  but  owing  to  the  constant  hunting  of  this 
fine  stag  for  its  horns,  they  are  rapidly  being  killed 
off.  The  horns,  when  in  the  velvet,  are  in  great 
demand  among  the  Chinese  as  medicine,  to  be  used 
by  the  women  at  childbirth.  A  large  pair  brings 
as  much  as  $50,  while  the  skins  bring  a  good  price 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

After  a  consultation  with  Khudai,  we  returned 
to  the  Kukturek,  where  we  spent  a  couple  of  lazy 
days,  most  pleasant  after  our  hard  work  of  the 
past  weeks,  loafing  about  camp  and  shooting  pheas- 
ants in  the  afternoon,  while  he  looked  up  a  friend 
of  his  who  knew  this  part  of  the  country. 

A  couple  of  very  long  days  found  us  on  the 
headwaters  of  this  stream,  where  we  were  to  leave 
our  camp,  and,  taking  a  few  men,  were  to  cross 
an  immense  glacier  to  hunt  in  a  country  seldom 
entered  by  natives. 

For  two  days  a  heavy  storm  kept  us  in  camp, 
but  it  cleared  in  the  evening,  and  the  third  morn- 
ing found  us  under  way  at  dawn,  so  that  we  might 
cross  the  glacier  before  the  heat  of  the  sun  should 
melt  the  new  snow  covering  it.  We  had  much 
trouble  in  crossing  the  immense  crevasses,  whose 
black  depths  were  far  from  pleasant  to  look  into, 

337 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

but  eventually  reached  the  summit,  and  had  begun 
our  descent  of  the  other  side  over  steep  rock  slides, 
when  the  clouds,  which  all  day  had  been  low,  de- 
scended, leaving  us  helpless.  At  last  they  lifted, 
and  we  were  just  moving  on,  when  a  huge  section 
of  the  mountain  just  in  front  of  us  gave  way, 
coming  down  in  an  avalanche,  which  narrowly 
missed  the  leading  ponies.  The  noise  was  deaf- 
ening, and  we  were  much  relieved  when  the  dust 
lifted  to  see  our  men  safe. 

Down  we  went  around  a  shoulder  of  the  moun- 
tain, where  high  above  us  the  men  could  see  with 
the  naked  eye,  and  we  with  the  glasses  a  large  herd 
of  ibex  on  the  sky  line.  Chew  won  the  toss,  while 
I  waited  with  the  outfit,  where  I  was  to  see  an 
example  of  good  luck  often  dreamed  of,  but  sel- 
dom realized.  It  was  i  o'clock  when  he  left,  and 
for  the  next  two  hours  we  watched  him  with  his 
hunter  slowly  climbing  up  the  steep  grass  slope, 
occasionally  shut  from  view  by  heavy  squalls  of 
hail  and  sleet.  At  last,  with  the  big  glass,  I  saw 
that  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground,  he  could 
not  get  within  shot,  and  was  wondering  what  he 
would  do  when  the  entire  herd,  numbering  about 
sixty  male  ibex,  suddenly  got  up  and  moved 
rapidly  away  from  him,  only  to  turn  quickly  and 
charge  in  a  body  to  exactly  where  he  sat  crouched 

338 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

behind  a  rock,  passing  within  twenty  yards  of 
him.  Time  after  time  his  double  450  roared  out, 
the  reports  coming  faintly  to  us.  After  seeing  this, 
I  moved  down  the  valley  a  couple  of  miles,  to  camp 
on  the  first  piece  of  ground  that  was  fairly  level. 
Long  after  dark  Chew  got  in  with  three  good 
heads,  and  with  every  chance  of  picking  up  three 
more,  which  he  did,  in  the  course  of  three  days, 
his  best  heads  being  54,  52^  and  50  inches,  the 
last  with  a  spread  of  46  inches. 

At  daybreak  next  morning  I  left  him  with  my 
kit  on  two  horses  and  with  four  men  to  cross  an- 
other mountain  to  a  place  where  our  guide  said 
there  were  wapiti.  The  next  evening,  after  a  long 
day  over  the  roughest  country  I  have  ever  seen, 
saw  us  camped  in  a  long,  narrow  valley,  with  many 
nullahs  running  into  it,  whose  sides  were  covered 
with  grass,  having  here  and  there  wide  strips  of 
pine  or  poplar.  By  the  time  I  had  pitched  my 
little  shelter  tent  and  cooked  supper,  it  was  9 
o'clock.  Four  the  next  morning  came  very  quickly, 
and  soon  after  we  were  off  in  the  dark  through  the 
dripping  underbrush  to  a  place  part  way  up  the 
grass  slope,  where  we  could  see  the  opposite  side 
of  the  valley  when  day  broke.  For  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  we  sat  shivering  in  the  cold  wind  which  blew 
over  many  miles  of  ice,  waiting  for  the  day,  and 

339 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

as  it  slowly  brightened  in  the  east,  we  could  make 
out  with  the  glasses  two  little  bands  of  wapiti  and 
a  single  one  that  we  saw  had  horns,  the  others  being 
hinds.  Before  it  was  light  enough  to  use  the  tele- 
scope, they  had  all  gone  into  the  timber,  while  we 
got  back  to  camp  for  breakfast,  just  as  the  sun 
shone  on  the  snow-covered  peaks  far  up  the  valley. 
As  the  river  in  the  canon  would  be  in  flood 
toward  evening,  we  moved  over  at  once,  getting 
everything  wet  in  the  rather  villainous  ford,  and 
then  sat  down  to*  wait  until  evening,  when  we 
would  go  after  the  stag.  The  lay  of  the  land  was 
such  that  we  had  to  wait  until  the  wind  blew  down 
the  canon,  which  we  knew  it  would  do  as  soon 
as  the  sun  got  near  the  mountains.  At  last  the 
longed  for  change  came,  and  we  were  off,  reaching 
the  place  near  where  the  stag  had  gone  into  the 
timber,  as  it  was  getting  dusk,  but  he  had  not  come 
out  yet.  However,  he  soon  walked  out  near  us, 
when  we  saw  to  our  disappointment  that  he  was 
a  small  six-pointer — that  is,  three  points  on  each 
horn — and  what  was  worse  still,  in  the  velvet, 
although  it  was  now  the  first  week  in  September. 
For  a  week  I  repeated  this  proceeding  each  day, 
but  without  seeing  a  shootable  stag,  and  often  no 
stag  at  all,  while  we  could  not  move  further  up  or 
down  the  valley,  as  the  water  was  still  too  high. 

340 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

The  long  days  sitting  in  camp,  doing  absolutely 
nothing,  as  I  had  read  and  reread  all  our  books, 
and  without  a  soul  to  speak  to,  as  my  Kirghiz  was 
very  limited,  got  on  my  nerves  to  such  an  extent 
that,  after  eight  days,  we  left,  reaching  the  camp 
where  I  had  left  Chew  on  the  evening  of  the 
ninth  day.  Here  I  found  quite  a  monument  with 
a  large  white  stone  on  the  top,  on  which  was  cut 
a  very  good  likeness  of  an  ibex,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "B.C.,  1909.  VI. "  and  written  on  it  in  pencil 
a  message  saying  that  he  had  gotten  six  good  ibex. 
Another  day  saw  me  in  the  main  camp,  where  a 
good  dinner  was  most  welcome  after  the  last  few 
days  of  hard  work  on  short  rations. 

I  was  greatly  disappointed  not  to  get  a  wapiti, 
but  to  my  mind  it  is  doubtful  if  I  would  have 
gotten  a  fair  one  even  in  a  month.  At  Kuldja  and 
on  the  road  home  I  saw  many  hundred  shed  horns, 
which  are  exported,  to  be  used  as  knife  handles,  and 
a  number  of  pairs  with  the  horns  still  on  the  skull  ; 
but  among  all  these  there  was  not  even  a  fair  set. 
At  Kuldja  I  spent  much  time  looking  for  a  good 
pair,  offering  a  large  price,  but  could  find  none. 
However,  at  the  Tekkes  the  guide  presented  me 
with  a  splendid  set  shot  some  years  ago,  which 
are  the  best  set  Rowland  Ward  has  ever  seen, 
measuring  as  they  do  56^  inches  on  the  curve,  the 

34i 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

next  best  being  a  set  54  inches,  shot  ten  years  ago 
by  Mr.  Church,  the  author  of  "With  Rifle  and 
Caravan  in  Chinese  Turkestan."  While  in  the 
canon  where  we  went  for  wapiti  I  saw  the  tracks 
of  a  bear,  but  could  not  find  him  in  the  thick 
brush,  where  no  doubt  he  was  living  on  wild 
currants  and  other  fruit,  and  in  all  our  travels  we 
did  not  see  any  sign  of  leopard,  either  of  the  com- 
mon variety  or  the  snow  leopard. 

If  on  starting  I  had  known  as  much  about  the 
country  as  I  knew  when  we  left  it,  our  trip  would 
have  been  much  more  successful.  I  have  made  no 
mention  of  the  several  mistakes  we  made.  First, 
we  did  not  know  until  we  reached  Tashkent  that 
there  is  for  sale  a  map  showing  all  the  post  roads 
with  the  distances  between  stations.  If  we  had 
known  that  there  was  a  post  road  to  Kuldja  from 
the  north,  we  would  have  shot  in  the  Altai  first. 
Secondly,  in  July  and  August  all  the  rivers  are  in 
flood,  and  at  that  time  very  apt  to  delay  travel 
until  a  few  cloudy  days  prevent  the  melting  of  the 
glaciers,  thus  lowering  the  streams.  Thirdly,  that 
Kalmuks  are  better  hunters  than  any  other  tribe, 
and  fourthly,  that  it  seems  true  that  the  biggest 
heads  are  in  the  highest  mountains. 

If  I  were  to  take  the  trip  again  I  should  go  to 
the  Altai  in  the  north  for  argali  (Ovis  ammon), 

342 
I 


Ibex  Shooting  in  the  Thian  Shan  Mountains 

then  travel  to  Kuldja  by  river  steamer  and  tar- 
antas  to  shoot  in  the  Thian  Shan  from  about  the 
middle  of  August  until  October,  engaging  my  men 
at  Kuldja  through  the  Belgian  missionaries  there — 
two  most  agreeable  gentlemen  who*  have  met  every 
traveler  from  Littledale  in  1882  until  the  present 
time.  I  should  buy  all  my  supplies  except  cocoa 
and  condensed  milk  at  Vernie  or  Jarkand,  and  in 
Kuldja  itself.  The  condensed  milk  in  Russia  is  to 
be  found  at  the  apothecaries. 

I  have  made  no  mention  of  the  great  number  of 
ibex  to  be  found  in  these  mountains.  Often  we 
saw  at  one  time  several  herds,  each  with  over  a 
hundred  ibex.  While  the  actual  hunting  of  ibex  is 
the  grandest  sport  that  I  have  ever  had,  one  must 
not  forget  the  frequent  rainy  days  or  those  on 
which  the  clouds  were  low  in  the  mornings,  thus 
delaying  the  start  until  it  was  too  late  to  make  a 
vSuccessful  day's  hunt.  On  days  such  as  these,  time 
hangs  very  heavy  on  one's  hands,  as  it  does  also  in 
the  afternoons  on  days  when  we  moved  camp. 
Now  that  I  am  home,  however,  I  look  back  with 
great  pleasure  on  the  days  spent  on  the  mountains, 
forgetting  the  times  when  we  were  delayed  by  bad 
weather  and  high  water. 

Geo.  L.  Harrison,  Jr. 

343 


SHOOTING  TRIP  IN  NORTHWESTERN 
RHODESIA 

In  the  first  week  of  July,  1908,  I  left  England 
by  the  Union  Castle  liner  Kenilworth  for  a  shoot- 
ing trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia,  arriving  at 
Victoria  Falls  on  the  Zambesi  just  three  weeks 
from  the  day  I  sailed.  The  seventeen-day  voyage, 
broken  by  a  day  at  Madeira,  was  very  pleasant, 
the  weather  being  clear  and  warm,  the  sea  smooth, 
the  passengers  most  agreeable.  The  days  passed 
quickly,  with  cricket  on  deck  in  the  afternoon  and 
dances  gotten  up  by  a  lot  of  young  people  almost 
every  evening.  A  comfortable  train  meets  the 
boat  on  arrival,  and  I  was  soon  ascending  the 
mountains  back  of  Cape  Town  and  getting  my 
first  taste  of  South  Africa  as,  wearing  overcoat, 
gloves  and  traveling  rug,  I  shivered  in  the  cold 
mountain  air,  looking  at  the  snow  covered  peaks 
on  each  side  of  the  track. 

Then  we  came  to  the  Karroo,  once  teeming  with 
game — a  great  table-land,  stretching  north  from 
the  mountains,  with  its  kopjes  sharply  outlined  in 

344 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

the  clear  atmosphere ;  the  same  kopjes  which  caused 
so  many  "regrettable  incidents"  in  the  Boer  War; 
innocent  little  hills,  looking  as  if  they  could  not 
hide  a  rabbit,  but  in  whose  folds  had  hidden  many 
a  commando. 

Kimberly  and  Mafeking,  dusty  tin  towns  on  a 
barren  plain,  were  passed,  the  train  reaching  Bul- 
awayo  the  third  morning.  Bulawayo  is  built  on 
the  site  of  Lo  Bengula's  old  capital,  but  the  great 
Matibili  chief  lies  in  an  unknown  grave,  having 
disappeared  badly  wounded  with  a  few  of  his  head 
men.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  find  his 
last  resting  place,  but  always  without  success. 
Many  stories  are  still  told  of  the  autocratic  rule 
of  this  man,  whose  lightest  word  was  law,  and  who 
kept  in  touch  with  every  part  of  his  Empire 
through  messengers,  who  brought  him  news  of 
each  event.  Although  harsh  and  cruel,  he  never- 
theless made  of  the  Matibili  a  nation  of  perfect 
physical  specimens,  brave  in  warfare  and  kindly 
one  to  another. 

Early  the  following  morning  I  was  up  to  catch 
the  first  glimpse  of  the  great  Victoria  Falls,  and 
while  still  more  than  twenty  miles  away,  could  see 
the  rising  sun  shining  on  the  towering  column  of 
spray,  which  was  taken  by  early  travelers  for  the 
smoke  of  bush  fires. 

345 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  railroad  crosses  the  Zambesi  a  few  yards 
below  the  Falls,  the  train  pulling  in  to  Livingstone, 
the  capital  of  Northwest  Rhodesia,  at  9  o'clock. 
Here  I  was  met  by  Finaughty,  my  hunter,  with 
word  that  the  wagon  would  meet  us  at  Kalomo, 
ninety  miles  further  on,  so  we  changed  into  the 
train  for  Broken  Hill,  stopping  only  to  get  my 
shooting  license. 

That  afternoon  we  left  the  train  at  Kalomo 
Station,  and  trekking  through  the  old  capital,  now 
deserted,  as  it  was  very  unhealthy  in  the  rains, 
camped  near  a  little  river  at  sunset;  the  fiery  ball  of 
the  sun  disappearing  soon  after  making  camp.  The 
little  river  was  only  a  river  in  the  rainy  season,  and 
I  did  not  imagine  that  we  were  going  to  drink  the 
water  the  servants  brought  from  the  pool  nearby, 
as  it  was  quite  muddy  and  had  a  decidedly  grassy 
taste.  However,  one  soon  became  accustomed  to 
it,  and  when  it  was  boiled,  it  was  not  so  bad.  Be- 
sides, we  had  a  water  barrel  on  the  wagon,  which 
we  filled  whenever  we  found  extra  good  water.  It 
is  only  fair  to  say  that  1908  was  an  exceptionally 
dry  year.  The  wagon  trekked  on  at  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  while  we  cantered  on  for  breakfast,  hav- 
ing kept  a  couple  of  "boys"  with  us  to  carry  our 
beds.  I  should  say  that  in  this  part  of  the  world  any 
native  servant  is  a  "boy,"  while  any  native  is  a 

346 


PACK    BULL-TEKKES    RIVER. 
(See  page  314.) 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

"Kaffir."  As  I  was  sitting  down  to  the  meal,  a 
couple  of  Lichtenstein  hartebeests  walked  out  a 
couple  of  hundred  yards  away,  both  of  which  I 
dropped,  thus  furnishing  plenty  of  meat  for  our 
men  and  putting  every  one  in  a  good  humor.  It 
was  just  twenty-two  days  since  I  had  left  Waterloo 
station,  London. 

A  word  as  to  my  men  and  outfit  may  be  of 
interest,  although  I  am  afraid  the  present-day 
motorist  would  find  our  progress  rather  slow.  I 
had  rented  the  outfit  complete  through  an  agent  at 
Livingstone,  who  engaged  for  me  the  men  and  had 
stocked  the  wagon  with  the  supplies  I  had  chosen. 
First,  there  was  the  wagon,  a  ponderous  affair  of 
the  old  Cape  pattern,  capable  of  carrying  a  load 
of  three  tons.  This  was  drawn  by  sixteen  oxen 
yoked  in  pairs,  the  lead  oxen  led  by  a  Kaffir  and 
the  team  driven  by  Finaughty's  brother  Harry. 
Each  ox  knew  his  name,  and  would  respond  when 
called  on,  but  woe  to  the  ox  that  shirked  his  work, 
for  he  would  have  the  double  thong  of  the  great 
whip  about  his  ribs  at  once.  William  Finaughty 
and  I  each  had  two  ponies  for  hunting,  while  a 
couple  of  black  boys  as  servant  and  cook,  together 
with  four  others  for  hunting,  completed  the  outfit. 

The  Finaughtys  had  been  born  in  the  country, 
being  sons  of  William  Finaughty,  one  of  the  old- 

347 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

time  elephant  hunters,  whom  Selous  mentions  as 
having  stopped  hunting  in  1872  because  the  game 
was  then  getting  scarce.  Both  were  excellent  men, 
speaking  Dutch  and  Matibili  fluently,  kind  to 
both  animals  and  natives,  but  not  to  be  imposed 
upon,  as  our  men  occasionally  found  to  their  cost, 
when  the  double  thong  would  wind  around  their 
ribs  for  some  flagrant  piece  of  laziness.  For  the 
next  three  days  we  traveled  on  through  sandy 
ridges,  interspersed  with  little  vleys — open  spaces 
that  are  marshes  in  the  rains — or,  more  correctly, 
I  should  say  nights,  as  the  wagon  always  left  camp 
at  sundown,  traveling  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock, 
when  the  oxen  were  outspanned  for  a  rest  of  three 
hours,  and  then  went  forward  until  sunrise.  We 
usually  slept  until  morning,  then  having  a  cup  of 
cocoa  with  a  biscuit,  and  cantering  in  to  breakfast, 
or  more  generally  taking  a  loop  in  search  of  game, 
usually  getting  a  reed  buck  or  oribi. 

On  the  third  morning  we  found  the  wagon 
drawn  up  under  an  enormous  fig  tree  near  some 
native  kraals  or  villages,  whose  inhabitants  were 
soon  flocking  about  camp,  and  from  them  we 
learned  that  eland,  roan  antelope  and  hartebeest 
were  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity.  On  the  open  plain 
back  of  camp  were  to  be  seen  many  oribi,  a  little 
antelope  about  twenty-five  inches  high  with  jet 

348 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

black  horns  five  inches  long,  not  big  game,  but 
nevertheless  affording  very  good  sport  as  well  as 
good  rifle  practice.  Next  morning  we  rode  out 
from  camp  in  the  cold,  raw  dawn,  accompanied  by 
a  dozen  or  more  men  from  the  nearby  kraals  eager 
to  show  us  game,  which  we  soon  saw  in  the  shape 
of  a  solitary  bull  hartebeest,  a  wary  old  fellow, 
which  took  some  stalking  to  get  and  then  only  after 
a  long  time,  as  the  first  shot  hit  him  too  far  back, 
so  that  it  was  midday  before  he  was  accounted  for. 
There  was  much  eland  spoor  about,  so  after 
a  bite  of  lunch  we  went  on,  to  be  rewarded 
by  seeing  a  little  herd  of  these  huge  antelopes 
standing  and  lying  under  some  mimosa  trees  in  the 
center  of  quite  a  large  plain.  The  absence  of  cover 
rendered  an  approach  to  within  shot  impossible, 
but  the  more  I  looked  through  my  glasses  at  the 
great  slate-colored  bull  with  his  bushy  frontlet  of 
black  hair,  the  more  I  wanted  his  head,  and  I 
quickly  agreed  to  Finaughty's  suggestion  that  we 
should  try  running  them  down.  Bending  low  in 
the  saddle,  we  walked  our  ponies,  one  back  of  the 
other,  directly  toward  them,  in  this  way  getting 
to  within  four  hundred  yards,  when  the  eland 
began  to  move  off.  Then,  after  them  we  went  as 
fast  as  our  ponies  could  gallop,  but  for  the  first 
mile  the  eland  held  their  own,  the  fox-colored  cows 

349 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

going  easily  and  jumping  over  the  bushes  in  a 
manner  surprising  for  such  large  animals.  I  had 
to  ride  to  one  side  on  account  of  the  clouds  of  dust 
which  hid  the  holes  of  ant-bears  and  the  cracks  in 
the  ground;  but  at  last,  as  they  neared  the  edge  of 
the  timber,  for  which  they  had  been  making,  the 
big  bull  was  evidently  done,  and  I  was  able  to  race 
alongside  him  as  he  lumbered  on. 

As  I  galloped  behind  the  herd,  I  could  dis- 
tinctly smell  the  sweet  odor  associated  with  these 
animals,  and  which  comes,  I  believe,  from  the 
fragrant  bushes  they  browse  on;  the  blood,  even 
when  dry  on  the  hands,  has  a  pleasant  perfume. 
The  ponies  we  were  riding  had  just  arrived  from 
Cape  Colony,  and  had  never  been  used  as  hunting 
ponies.  The  reason  for  this  was  that  almost  all 
horses  in  this  part  of  Africa  die  of  horse  sickness 
during  the  rains — the  few  which  survive  being 
known  as  "salted"  horses,  and  are  worth  eight  or 
ten  times  as  much  as  an  unsalted  horse.  Even  these 
high-priced  animals  are  not  immune  from  the  tsetse 
fly,  whose  bite  is  fatal  to  domestic  animals,  so  that 
it  is  more  economical  on  a  short  trip  to  use  horses 
brought  in  from  the  Cape,  when  all  risks,  such  as 
losing  them — having  them  killed  by  lions  or  "fly" 
— are  considered. 

I  had  never  fired  from  the  saddle,  and  as  far  as 
350 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

I  knew  my  pony  had  never  heard  a  shot  at  close 
quarters,  so  it  was  with  great  misgivings  that  I 
rested  my  rifle  across  the  pummel  of  the  saddle  and 
pulled  trigger,  with  the  lucky  result  that  the  great 
bull  rolled  over  with  a  shot  through  the  heart.  I 
think  that  everyone  who  has  shot  a  fair  amount  of 
game  feels  a  reaction  at  the  end  of  the  stalk,  when 
the  animal  youhave  been  striving  so  hard  to  get  lies 
at  your  feet;  and  in  this  case  the  reaction  was  in- 
tensified by  the  excitement  of  the  gallop  I  had  had. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  natives  came  up,  and 
as  it  was  late  in  the  day,  we  cut  off  the  head,  ^ send- 
ing it  into  camp  by  two  men,  leaving  the  others 
with  our  water  bottles  to  spend  the  night  there, 
which  they  gladly  did,  to  feast  on  the  meat  until 
morning.  The  next  morning  the  women  of  the 
kraals  brought  in  all  the  meat,  which  we  traded 
for  grain  for  our  men  and  ponies,  while  I  spent  a 
lazy  day  about  camp  superintending  the  skinning 
of  the  heads,  and  getting  a  couple  of  good  oribi 
in  the  afternoon. 

At  this  camp  I  got  another  hartebeest,  a  couple 
more  reedbuck  and  a  very  good  roan  antelope, 
which  I  shot  as  he  lay  asleep  under  a  tree — the 
bullet  breaking  his  neck.  Here  we  left  the  so- 
called  road — a  mere  wagon  track  in  the  veldt — 
striking  across  country  to  a  place  where  the  natives 

351 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

said  there  were  a  few  sable  antelopes.  This 
meant  traveling  by  day,  and  the  oxen  suffered 
from  the  heat,  as  they  were  very  weak  from  feed- 
ing on  the  young  grass  which  was  springing  up 
after  the  old  grass  was  burned.  As  usual,  we  were 
out  early  next  morning,  and  soon  found  an  old 
roan  bull  standing  on  the  open  plain,  which 
stretched,  with  only  a  few  bushes,  from  here  to 
the  Kafue  River.  Luckily,  some  large  ant  hills 
gave  us  the  means  of  getting  within  range,  when 
a  well-placed  shot  dropped  him  where  he  stood. 
Leaving  a  boy  to  keep  off  the  vultures,  we  sent 
another  into  camp  with  the  head,  telling  him  to 
send  out  for  the  meat,  while  we  rode  on  to  look 
for  more  game. 

A  couple  of  eland  cows  soon  showed  up,  and  as 
one  had  a,  very  good  head,  I  galloped  after  her, 
only  to  find  it  a  very  different  matter  from  riding 
into  a  heavy  bull.  The  chase  had  been  in  a  large 
semicircle,  and  by  the  time  I  came  to  terms  with 
her  she  was  heading  for  the  place  I  had  killed  the 
roan,  and  I  let  her  gallop  on  for  a  mile  or  so,  drop- 
ping her  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  first 
animal,  much  to  the  surprise  and  delight  of  the 
boy  on  guard.  Taking  only  the  head,  we  gave  the 
carcass  to  the  people  of  the  kraal  near  which  we 
were  camped,  and  that  evening  Finaughty  called 

352 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

my  attention  to  the  long  line  of  women,  some  with 
babies  on  their  backs,  bringing  in  the  meat.  All 
were  singing,  and  everybody  was  carrying  at  least 
three  times  as  much  as  when  with  groans  they 
carried  meat  in  for  us. 

Another  trek  took  us  into  the  sable  country,  but 
unfortunately  the  cold  wind  of  the  past  few  days, 
combined  with  the  hot  sun,  brought  on  a  fever,  so 
it  was  a  week  before  I  was  about.  At  last  I  could 
stand  camp  no  longer,  and  although  rather  shaky, 
we  decided  to  spend  the  day  among  some  big  trees 
which  we  saw  on  a  ridge  about  six  miles*  away. 
Just  before  we  reached  them,  however,  a  sable 
bull  got  up  not  one  hundred  yards  away,  standing 
broadside  until  I  rolled  off  my  pony  and  took  a 
shot.  Down  he  went,  but  getting  up  again,  went 
away  very  sick.  As  I  was  still  weak,  I  gave  my 
rifle  to  Finaughty,  telling  him  to  finish  him,  which 
he  did  in  a  short  time,  as  he  found  him  too  badly 
wounded  to  get  up.  He  was  a  magnificent  animal, 
the  upper  parts  jet  black  with  pure  white  beneath, 
and  better  still,  a  really  good  set  of  horns  46^ 
inches  in  length. 

At  this  camp  we  got  a  day's  good  bushbuck 
shooting  in  the  bed  of  a  river,  now  almost  dry, 
with  water  every  mile  or  so  in  pools.  Putting  a 
few  boys  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  which  was  at 

353 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

least  twelve  feet  below  the  surrounding  country, 
we  walked  quietly  along  about  one  hundred  yards 
in  front  of  the  beaters,  Finaughty  on  one  bank, 
myself  on  the  other,  firing  at  the  buck  as  they 
raced  up  the  river  bed  or  left  the  stream  to  cut 
across  a  bend  to  another  part  higher  up.  Our 
bag  was  five  bucks — we  could  have  killed  many 
more  if  we  had  wished — most  of  which  fell  to 
Finaughty,  who,  armed  with  my  little  double  303, 
made  splendid  practice  of  those  fast-moving  ani- 
mals. The  bushbuck,  to  my  mind,  is  by  far  the 
most  sporting  of  the  smaller  antelope,  carrying  a 
great  deal  of  lead  and  charging  when  cornered, 
while  their  sharp  horns  are  not  to  be  despised. 
The  native  women  would  not  eat  the  meat  for  fear 
of  becoming  barren. 

One  day  while  at  this  camp  we  tried  to  gallop 
up  to  a  herd  of  roan,  which  were  feeding  with 
some  zebra  on  a  large  open  plain,  and  getting  as 
near  them  as  we  could,  we  let  the  ponies  gallop 
after  them  at  almost  top  speed.  At  the  start  the 
zebra  and  roan  kept  together,  but  before  a  mile 
was  past  the  zebra  were  done,  letting  me  gallop 
through  them  without  much  trouble;  but  it  was  a 
different  matter  with  the  roan.  Although  I  got 
within  twenty  yards  of  the  largest  bull,  I  could  not 
get  alongside  him  as  he  galloped  with  open  mouth, 

354 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

and  I  was  afraid  to  shoot  over  my  pony's  head,  as 
he  had  a  nasty  way  of  ducking  to  the  shot,  most 
unpleasant  in  a  country  full  of  holes.  For  three 
miles  we  kept  this  position,  and  just  when  I  thought 
the  roan  was  done  my  pony  gave  out  after  blunder- 
ing over  the  earth  of  an  ant  wolf,  while  the  roan 
stopped  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further  on.  The 
ponies  we  had  were  in  good  condition,  being  corn 
fed,  but  were  not  by  any  means  fast. 

A  couple  of  days'  trek  from  here  took  us  well  on 
to  the  Kafue  Flats — broad,  open  plains — flooded 
at  certain  seasons  and  covered  with  the  roots  of 
the  grass  which  had  recently  been,  burnt  off.  As 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  flats  extended  in 
every  direction,  covered  with  immense  herds  of 
zebra,  letchwi  and  wildebeest,  while  the  ground 
itself  was  most  excellent  for  galloping  over,  as 
there  were  no  holes  or  cracks  of  any  kind. 

Camp  was  made  near  the  only  tree  for  many 
miles,  and  in  the  afternoon  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
drop  a  good  wildebeest  at  long  range.  The  coun- 
try being  perfectly  level,  stalking  was  impossible, 
as  was  also  riding  down  the  game,  for  as  the 
animal  pursued  at  once  made  for  other  herds,  we 
soon  had  about  5,000  head  of  zebras,  letchwi  and 
wildebeest  kicking  up  such  a  cloud  of  ashes  from 
the  burnt  grass,  that  I  could  not  see  twenty  yards. 

355 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  letchwi,  however,  were  easy  enough  to  get, 
for  as  soon  as  they  were  frightened  they  would 
string  out  in  a  long  line,  crossing  in  front  of  the 
horse  at  almost  right  angles,  so  we  would  gallop 
at  the  leader,  jump  off  and  shoot.  This  habit 
comes  from  the  Mashukulumbi  driving  them  at 
certain  times  into  a  circle,  and  as  this  has  been 
going  on  for  years,  the  buck  break  out  to  one  side 
as  soon  as  anyone  gets  near  them.  The  zebra 
would  have  been  easy  enough  to  kill,  and  I  wanted 
a  couple  of  skins,  but  foolishly  kept  putting  shoot- 
ing off  until  we  were  almost  finished  the  trip,  and 
then  of  course  did  not  see  any  more. 

On  the  flats  we  could  shoot  only  in  the  early 
morning  and  late  afternoon,  on  account  of  the 
mirage,  which  surpassed  anything  I  have  ever  seen. 
At  noon  not  only  was  there  game  on  earth,  but 
great  herds  of  it  floating  into  the  air,  seemingly 
close  at  hand.  One  day  I  jumped  off  my  pony  to 
shoot  a  letchwi,  when  a  troop  of  zebra  galloping 
by,  the  pony  joined  them,  leaving  me  afoot.  Fin- 
aughty,  who  luckily  was  near  at  hand,  gave  chase, 
and  in  a  couple  of  hours  I  saw  him  come  gallop- 
ing back,  leading  the  pony.  He  seemed  so  close 
that  I  thought  he  saw  me,  and  it  was  not  until  he 
seemed  to  be  passing  us  at  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards  that  my  boy,  who  had  come  up,  called  to 

356 


*A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northzvestern  Rhodesia 

him,  while  I  fired  a  couple  of  shots.  For  three 
hours  he  galloped  around  us,  sometimes  on  the 
ground,  more  often  in  the  air,  but  all  the  time  so 
plain  that  I  could  see  each  pony  rise  and  fall  in 
his  stride,  and  knew  that  Finaughty  had  changed 
on  to  my  pony.  At  last  he  found  us,  and  getting  on 
our  ponies,  we  gave  them  their  heads  for  camp,  an 
experiment  I  had  often  tried  before.  So  well  did 
they  know  where  the  wagon  was,  although  we  had 
only  been  there  two  days,  that  the  big  tree  ap- 
peared exactly  between  my  pony's  ears,  and  this 
after  he  had  been  galloped  back  and  forth  all 
morning. 

After  I  had  shot  four  good  letchwi  heads,  we 
traveled  for  a  couple  of  days  up  the  Kafue  River, 
making  camp  under  some  big  fig  trees  on  a  high 
bank,  while  the  plain  behind  us  was  covered  with 
the  largest  ant  hills  I  have  ever  seen,  many  of 
them  over  twelve  feet  high.  On  the  way,  we 
stopped  over  a  day  near  a  large  native  village, 
where  I  shot  several  duikers,  a  small  buck  weigh- 
ing about  thirty  pounds ;  and  I  may  say  here  that  I 
took  a  very  unfair  advantage  of  them.  The  bush 
around  the  village  swarmed  with  duikers,  which 
were  hunted  a  good  deal  by  natives  armed  with 
spears,  and  I  suppose  the  little  buck  preferred 
this  to  being  hunted  by  the  cat  tribe  further  away. 

357 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Anyhow  they  had  worked  out  the  range  of  a  spear 
so  exactly  that  when  started  from  a  clump  of  bushes 
or  a  patch  of  long  grass,  they  would  run  for  a 
hundred  yards,  and  then  walk  quietly  away,  giving 
plenty  of  time  to  look  at  their  horns  through  a 
glass,  as  well  as  for  a  shot.  Near  the  camp  were 
several  small  herds  of  puku,  a  kob  or  waterbuck, 
about  the  size  of  a  whitetail  deer.  Living  on  the 
open  plain  without  any  cover,  over  which  the  wind 
blew  with  great  force,  raising  blinding  clouds  of 
dust  and  ashes  from  the  burnt  grass,  they  were 
wild  and  hard  to  approach.  Each  buck  had  a  herd 
of  about  thirty  does  with  him,  thus  adding  greatly 
to  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  shot,  as  he  was  gen- 
erally in  their  midst,  and  I  must  confess  to  a  couple 
of  amazing  flukes  when  I  got  a  couple  of  good 
heads  with  a  shot  each  through  the  heart  at  over 
three  hundred  yards  in  a  gale  of  wind.  I  mention 
this  to  show  that  sometimes  the  thousand-to-one 
chance  comes  off. 

One  evening  a  native  came  to  camp  with  the 
report  that  he  could  show  us  buffalo-  within  a  long 
day's  march,  and  in  a  country  where  we  could  use 
horses.  This  sounded  too  good  to  be  true,  and  I 
was  careful  to  impress  on  him  that  we  would  ad- 
here strictly  to  the  agreement  which  we  always 
made  in  such  cases,  namely,  a  handsome  present  if 

358 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

we  were  shown  the  game  or  recent  spoor,  and  a 
present  of  twenty-five  lashes  with  the  ox  whip  in 
case  it  was  all  a  fake.  Natives  would  often  come 
to  camp  offering  to  show  us  certain  kinds  of  game, 
either  in  order  that  they  might  get  a  present  in 
advance,  or  that  we  might  be  persuaded  to  shoot 
them  some  common  variety  of  buck  when  we  could 
not  get  what  we  were  after.  This  particular  native 
did  not  bolt  in  the  night  when  we  explained  our 
terms,  as  usually  happened,  so  next  morning  we 
took  some  boys  to  carry  our  beds  and  food,  and 
the  rising  sun  saw  us  under  way.  Until  noon  we 
traveled  under  a  blazing  sun  over  a  parched  plain, 
the  wind  from  which  was  like  blasts  from  a  fur- 
nace— then  a  rest,  and  on  again  at  one  in  the  ter- 
rific heat,  until,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  we  came 
to  a  little  knoll,  the  only  landmark  in  sight,  where 
our  guide  said  he  had  found  water  a  week  before. 
There  was  no  sign  of  it  now. 

Nine  o'clock  found  us  still  traveling,  with  no 
sign  of  water,  but  soon  afterward  we  came  to  a  de- 
pression, where  we  dug  a  little  well,  getting  a  cup 
of  liquid  mud  each,  with  every  prospect  of  an 
uncomfortable  night,  as  we  were  now  suffering  as 
much  with  the  cold  as  we  had  previously  done  with 
the  heat,  our  boys  having  fallen  far  behind  with 
the  food  and  blankets.  With  difficulty  we  man- 

359 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

aged  to  collect  a  little  dry  grass  to  make  a  momen- 
tary blaze,  which,  together  with  a  few  shots, 
brought  the  men  up  by  midnight,  very  tired  and 
thirsty. 

The  next  morning  we  saw  far  off  the  tops  of  a 
small  clump  of  trees  on  a  rise  of  ground,  where  our 
guide  assured  us  he  had  seen  buffalo  a  week  be- 
fore, and  these  we  reached  about  noon,  the  tired 
porters  not  getting  in  until  late.  Luckily,  there 
was  water,  but  absolutely  no  sign  of  buffalo,  and 
the  guide  became  very  impertinent ;  but  as  the  tired 
porters  staggered  in  one  by  one,  he  changed  his 
manner  on  my  threatening  to  turn  him  over  to 
their  tender  mercies.  At  last  he  confessed  that  he 
had  not  seen  buffalo  for  three  years.  I  gave  him 
his  choice  of  being  turned  over  to  our  men,  taking 
a  whipping  or  carrying  a  load  back  to*  camp,  which 
latter  he  chose,  and  I  need  not  say  that  the  load 
the  men  made  up  for  him  was  far  from  light,  and 
that  a  very  chastened  native  arrived  at  the  wagon 
late  the  next  evening,  and  as  soon  as  he  had 
deposited  his  burden,  started  for  his  kraal. 

Upon  our  return,  we  found  a  native  awaiting 
us,  who  offered  to  show  us  buffalo  in  another  direc- 
tion, so  after  a  day's  rest  we  went  with  him.  He 
told  us  that  we  would  have  to  make  a  dry  camp 
the  first  night,  but  would  reach  a  pan  or  pool  the 

360 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

next  morning.  The  mere  fact  of  knowing  water 
is  scarce  makes  one  thirsty,  and  I  could  have  done 
with  more  that  evening,  but  did  not  worry,  as  we 
expected  to  reach  water  early  the  next  day.  I 
should  say  that  the  reason  we  did  not  go  on  to  the 
water  the  first  day  was  because  we  hoped  to  run 
into  buffalo  grazing  near  the  pan  in  the  morning. 

We  left  camp  after  the  first  sign  of  dawn,  and 
soon  found  fresh  spoor  of  the  herd,  which  we 
followed  until  it  entered  a  dense  thicket  of  thorns 
many  miles  in  extent.  By  this  time  we  were  quite 
ready  for  breakfast  and  water,  so  made  for  the 
pan,  which  we  found  almost  dry  and  absolutely 
undrinkable  for  a  white  man,  as  its  stench  was 
unbearable. 

Our  men  told  us  that  we  could  buy  water  from 
a  well  near  a  kraal,  a  few  miles  distant,  and  we 
sent  at  once  for  some,  in  the  meantime  sitting  very 
thirsty  under  a  thin  tree,  while  I  thought  of  the 
many  times  I  had  been  in  a  bath  tub  without  drink- 
ing the  water,  and  Finaughty  hta  hoarse  voice  made 
remarks  on  the  man  who  wrote  the  hymn  about 
"Africa's  Sunny  Fountains."  At  last  the  water 
arrived,  muddy,  smelly,  but  drinkable  with  tea, 
and  at  this  camp  we  stayed  two  weeks,  the  first 
part  of  which  we  were  out  before  dawn  trying  to 
catch  the  buffalo  which  drank  at  the  pan  every 

361 


Hunting  at  High  Altitude* 

night  before  they  got  into  the  bush,  but  without 
success.  Several  times  we  followed  them  in — an 
unpleasant  experience,  as  most  of  the  time  we  had 
to  crawl  on  all  fours,  and  in  each  case  a  buffalo 
we  had  passed  close  by  without  seeing  got  our  wind 
and  alarmed  the  herd.  At  last  I  had  my  men  build 
a  platform  in  the  branches  of  a  tree  on  the  edge 
of  the  water,  and  here  I  determined  to  spend  the 
night.  The  platform  was  made  of  poles  across 
two  branches  about  twenty  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  here  with  blankets,  water  bottle,  rifle  and  field 
glasses,  I  took  my  position  about  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  men  returning  to  camp  a  mile  away. 
No  sooner  had  the  men  left  than  the  game 
began  coming  in  to  drink,  first  a  little  herd  of  roan 
appeared  from  among  the  open  bush,  not  seeming 
to  walk  out  like  domestic  animals,  but  occupying 
a  place  that  a  moment  before  was  vacant,  like  a 
magic  lantern  picture  on  a  screen.  For  over  an 
hour  by  my  watch  they  stood,  getting  up  courage 
to  face  the  chance  of  lions  in  the  reeds  or  the  many 
game  pits  built  in  the  surrounding  banks — pits 
eight  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide  and  six  feet 
deep,  tapering  in  a  V  to  the  bottom.  At  last  they 
walked  down  and  drank  of  the  liquid  mud,  raising 
their  heads  at  frequent  intervals  while  doing  so, 
then  hurriedly  walked  away.  Zebra,  hartebeest 

362 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

and  reedbuck  also  came,  while  I  had  hopes  of  a 
leopard  or  lion  before  dark,  but  was  disappointed. 
All  the  time,  doves  in  untold  thousands  streamed 
to  the  water  from  every  direction,  settling  so 
thickly  about  the  water  that  many  were  hovering 
in  the  air  awaiting  their  turn  to  drink.  At  last 
night  came,  the  sun  having  disappeared  from  view 
long  before  behind  a  bank  of  smoke  from  burning 
grass  and  dust  that  the  wind  had  raised  on  the 
open  plains.  Unfortunately  there  was  no  moon, 
but  under  the  cloudless  sky  the  stars  shone 
brightly,  and  one's  eyes  soon  became  accustomed 
to  the  night,  while  with  the  increasing  darkness 
the  little  pan  seemed  to  grow  in  size  until  it  looked 
like  a  lake.  During  the  first  part  of  the  night, 
game  came  in  to  drink,  but  were  invisible,  as  their 
color  matched  too  well  with  their  surroundings; 
however,  I  could  hear  them  in  the  water,  and  my 
ear  could  soon  tell  by  the  noises  their  feet  made 
in  the  mud  how  big  an  animal  was  in  the  pool. 
About  midnight  I  heard  far  off  the  grunting  sounds 
continually  made  by  buffalo,  and  as  they  approach 
nearer,  the  clinking  of  their  hoofs  as  they  walked, 
until  at  last  the  herd  filed  in,  immediately  walking 
into  the  center  of  the  shallow  water  to  drink  the 
churned  up  liquid  mud.  They  were  so  closely  packed 
together  that  I  could  not  single  any  one  out,  until 

363 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

at  last  a  large  buffalo  walked  toward  my  tree,  when 
I  gave  it  both  barrels  of  my  450.  Instantly  the 
herd  stampeded,  and  I  thought  that  I  had  missed, 
but  I  soon  heard  from  near  by  the  low  moaning 
bellow  which  a  buffalo  usually  makes  as  it  is  dying. 
The  noise  of  my  shots  had  awakened  the  camp, 
and  the  men,  knowing  well  the  meaning  of  the 
noise  the  beast  made,  came  down  with  a  lamp, 
which  soon  showed  us  a  good  bull  lying  dead  on 
the  bank.  The  next  night  I  killed  another  in  the 
same  way,  and  having  had  enough  of  this  rather 
unsportsmanlike  method  of  hunting,  we  moved  a 
march  further  on  to  where  there  were  said  to  be 
kudu.  On  the  way  I  picked  up  a  very  fine  pair  of 
kudu  horns,  which  had  been  killed  by  a  lion,  and  in 
the  following  week  saw  some  very  fine  kudu  bulls, 
but  did  not  succeed  in  getting  any  owing  to  a  run 
of  very  bad  shooting,  combined  with  a  large  and 
very  painful  liver,  the  result  of  fever.  So  severe 
was  the  pain  that  I  could  not  bend  nor  take  long 
breath,  while  all  the  time  my  side  ached  as  though 
my  ribs  were  broken.  Much  as  I  hated  to  leave 
the  kudu  country  without  getting  one  of  the  several 
good  heads,  both  Finaughty  and  I  were  feeling  so 
badly  that  We  thought  it  unwise  to  remain  any 
longer,  so  moved  back  to  where  the  wagon  was 
standing  on  the  Kafue  River.  Here  we  found  that 

364 


A  Shooting  Trip  in  Northwestern  Rhodesia 

a  lion  had  tried  to  take  one  of  the  lead  oxen  as  he 
lay  sleeping  fastened  to  the  trek  chain,  and  he  was 
badly  clawed  about  the  head  and  neck.  It  must 
have  been  either  a  very  old  and  feeble  lion  or  a 
young  one,  unskilled  in  this  method  of  slaughter; 
but  as  the  ground  was  baked  very  hard,  there  were 
no  tracks  to  tell  what  size  of  a  beast  he  was.  While 
in  the  kudu  country  I  shot  a  couple  of  Crawshay 
waterbuck,  both  having  good  heads. 

Of  course,  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  a  situtunga 
— an  antelope  seldom  shot  by  white  men.  Inhab- 
iting as  it  does  the  dense  reedy  swamps  of  the 
rivers,  it  is  chiefly  killed  by  the  natives  during  the 
floods,  when  it  is  speared  swimming  from  island 
to  island.  When  word  was  brought  that  a  situ- 
tunga had  been  seen  in  a  large  tract  of  reeds  some 
distance  inland,  we  at  once  rode  over,  only  to 
find  that  we  were  just  too  late,  the  buck  having 
been  driven  out  by  burning  the  now  dry  reeds  and 
pulled  down  by  dogs.  In  fact,  much  to  our  dis- 
appointment, we  met  the  natives  bringing  in  the 
head,  which  I  bought  for  a  few  yards  of  cloth.  As 
my  time  was  up,  we  trekked  back  to  Kalomo,  hav- 
ing shot  good  specimens  of  eland,  buffalo,  roan, 
sable,  wildebeest,  waterbuck,  both  common  and 
Crawshay's,  Lichtenstein's  hartebeest,  bushbuck, 
letchwi,  puku,  oribi  and  duiker. 

365 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  measurements  of  the  best  specimens  of 
the  various  heads,  made  by  Rowland  Ward  in 
London,  some  months  after  when  the  heads  had 
shrunk,  were  as  follows  : 

Length  on  Circum- 

outside  curve,  ference.     Tip  to  tip. 

Hartebeest    ..........   20^4  13               13/4 

Cape  Duiker   ........     4^  2                 2^ 

Cape  Oribi  ..........     5%  i^4             2^ 

Crawshay's  Waterbuck   26^ 
Letchwi  .............   32^ 


Reedbuck   ...........  13^  6l/2 

Sable  ...............  46^  io>4 

Roan  Antelope  .......  28^  8^ 

Roan  Antelope   (Cow)  28^  JZA 

Bushbuck   ...........  14^  5^ 

Eland    ..............  30^  (3 

Eland  (Cow)  ........  29  8^ 

Widest  Breadth 

outside.  of  palm.  Tip  to  tip. 

Blue  Wildebeest  .....  23^             4  14^4 

Buffalo   (Bull)    ......  35                8^  26^ 

Buffalo  (Cow)    ......  35                4^  21 

My  battery  on  this  trip  consisted  of  a  double- 
barrel  ejector  303,  a  450  double-barrel  ejector, 
and  a  rook  rifle.  All  the  game  except  the  buffalo 
were  killed  with  the  303,  on  which  was  a  detach- 
able telescope  sight.  This  I  found  very  useful  in 
dim  lights. 

Geo.  L.  Harrison,  Jr. 

366 


CONDITION  OF  WILD  LIFE  IN  ALASKA 

The  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  found  the 
game  in  the  old  territories  of  the  United  States 
well  on  the  road  toward  the  conditions  that  pre- 
cede extinction.  The  bison  had  been  practically 
gone  for  two  decades.  The  mountain  sheep  had 
been  exterminated  throughout  a  very  large  part  of 
its  original  range,  and  the  number  remaining  in 
remote  mountains  was  sadly  reduced.  The  wapiti, 
while  still  living  in  herds  numbering  many  thou- 
sand, was  rapidly  withdrawing  to  the  vicinity  of 
its  last  refuge,  the  Yellowstone  Park.  The  prong- 
horn  of  the  plains  was  disappearing  with  increas- 
ing rapidity,  partly  because  of  the  increasing  use 
of  the  barb-wire  fences  on  its  former  ranges. 

This  rapid  diminution  of  the  game  animals  of 
the  United  States  was  the  inevitable  consequence 
of  the  settlement  and  occupation  of  the  best  graz- 
ing lands.  While  there  remain  mountains  where 
the  game  is  relatively  undisturbed,  so  far  as  the 
killing  of  individuals  is  concerned,  and  while  these 
ranges  in  summer  appear  well  adapted  to  sustain  a 

367 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

large  and  varied  fauna,  their  actual  capacity  to 
sustain  life  is  limited  to  such  animals  as  can  there 
find  sustenance  during  the  heavy  snows  of  winter. 

Before  the  arrival  of  white  men,  the  animals, 
which  lived  in  the  mountains  during  the  summer, 
during  the  cold  season  sought  refuge  in  the  shel- 
tered valleys  and  foothills.  These  favored  locali- 
ties, however,  were  at  once  occupied  by  settlers, 
and  the  game  was  deprived  of  its  winter  feeding 
grounds.  This  has  done  more  in  recent  years  to 
exterminate  the  large  animals  of  the  West  than 
the  actual  shooting  of  individuals. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  American  people  had  obtained  no  little 
experience  in  game  protection,  and  had  embodied 
it  in  Federal  statutes  and  the  game  laws  of  the 
various  States.  Of  all  the  regulations  established 
for  the  preservation  of  wild  life,  the  most  prac- 
tical and  effective  have  been  found  to  be,  first,  the 
prohibition  of  hide  and  head  hunting;  second,  the 
prohibition  of  market  hunting;  third,  and  most 
important  of  all,  the  establishment  of  sanctuaries 
where  game  can  roam  and  breed  absolutely  un- 
disturbed. The  most  conspicuous  example  of  such 
refuges  is  the  Yellowstone  Park,  the  success  of 
which  is  admitted  on  all  sides. 

At  the  end  of  the  century,  the  gold  discovered 
368 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

in  the  extreme  northwest  of  Canada  and  in  Alaska 
brought  these  territories  suddenly  before  the  public 
eye.  Here  was  a  district  of  enormous  extent,  lying 
at  the  extreme  limit  of  the  continent,  and  populated 
by  a  large  and  varied  fauna,  which  was  practically 
undisturbed.  During  the  last  ten  years,  thousands 
of  prospectors  and  miners  have  gone  into  Alaska, 
and  in  many  places  worked  havoc  with  the  game. 
On  the  whole,  however,  the  destruction  of  the 
game  has  not  yet  gone  far  enough  to  permanently 
injure  the  fauna  of  the  region,  provided  the  matter 
of  protection  is  taken  in  hand  scientifically  and  in 
the  immediate  future. 

In  Alaska  we  have  a  gigantic  preserve.  In  it 
there  are  not  only  several  species  rich  in  the  num- 
bers of  their  individual  members,  but  also  certain 
species  which  in  point  of  size  appear  to  be  the  very 
culmination  of  their  respective  genera,  as  for  ex- 
ample, the  giant  moose.  The  brown  bear  group  of 
southern  Alaska  certainly  contains  the  largest 
known  bears,  not  even  excepting  the  great  fish  bear 
of  Kamchatka,  or  the  extinct  cave  bear  of  Europe. 
The  largest  known  wolves  are  found  in  northern 
Alaska,  and  a  wolverine  of  exceptional  size  has 
recently  been  described.  When  this  great  game 
region  was  first  opened  up,  immediate  legislation 
was  needed  to  protect  the  animals  from  the  delib- 

369 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

erate  onslaught  of  hide  hunters  in  southeastern 
Alaska ;  of  head  hunters,  who  attacked  the  moose, 
sheep  and  caribou  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  and  of 
the  market  hunters  generally  throughout  the  coast 
regions.  A  game  law,  which  certainly  proved 
effective  in  making  it  difficult  for  sportsmen  to 
hunt  in  Alaska,  was  passed. 

The  general  principles  of  game  protection,  ap- 
plicable to  the  situation  in  Alaska,  are  simple.  It 
should  be  clearly  understood  that  the  game  of 
Alaska,  or  of  any  other  region,  does  not  belong 
exclusively  to  the  human  inhabitants  of  that  par- 
ticular region,  and  that  neither  the  white  settlers 
nor  the  native  inhabitants  have  any  inherent  right 
to  the  game,  other  than  that  conferred  by  law. 
The  interest  of  the  entire  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  some  extent  that  of  the  civilized 
world,  is  centered  in  the  continued  existence  of  the 
forms  of  animal  life  which  have  come  down  to  us 
from  an  immense  antiquity  through  the  slow 
process  of  evolution.  It  is  no  longer  generally 
conceded  that  the  local  inhabitants  of  any  given 
district  have  a  divine  commission  to<  pollute  streams 
with  sawdust,  to  destroy  forests  by  ax  or  fire,  or  to 
slaughter  every  living  thing  within  reach  of  rifle, 
trap  or  poisoned  bait.  This  must  be  thoroughly 
understood  in  advance.  The  game  and  the  forests 

370 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

belong  to  the  nation,  and  not  to  the  individual, 
and  the  use  of  them  by  the  individual  citizen  is 
limited  to  such  privileges  as  may  be  accorded  him 
by  law.  The  mere  fact  that  he  has  the  power  to 
destroy  without  interference  by  the  law,  does  not 
in  itself  confer  a  right.  The  destruction  of  game 
is  far  more  often  effected  by  local  residents  than 
it  is  by  visiting  sportsmen,  but  the  chief  evildoer, 
and  the  public  enemy  of  all  classes,  is  the  profes- 
sional hunter,  either  Indian  or  white,  who  kills  for 
the  market.  Worse  still,  perhaps,  is  the  profes- 
sional dealer  in  heads  and  antlers,  who  employs 
such  hunters  to  provide  game  heads  for  the  decora- 
tion of  the  banquet  halls  of  the  growing  class  of 
would-be  sportsmen,  who  enjoy  the  suggestion  of 
hunting  prowess  conferred  by  a  selected  collection 
of  purchased  heads,  mixed  in  with  those  of  their 
own  killing. 

However  efficient  the  game  law  may  be  in  limit- 
ing the  killing  to  a  given  number  of  individuals, 
and  to  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  or,  better  still,  to 
the  adult  males  of  certain  species,  the  only  per- 
manently effective  way  to  continue  in  abundance 
and  in  individual  vigor  any  species  of  game  is,  to 
establish  proper  sanctuaries,  as  thoroughly  con- 
trolled as  the  Yellowstone  Park,  and  these  must 
contain  both  summer  and  winter  ranges.  In  such 

37i 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

areas  no  hunting  or  trapping — perhaps  even  no 
dogs — should  be  allowed;  and  in  them  the  game 
will  then  retain  its  native  habits  and  breed  freely, 
while  the  overflow  will  populate  the  adjoining  dis- 
tricts. This  principle  has  been  applied  with 
brilliant  success  in  East  Africa,  where  a  protected 
strip  of  land  on  either  side  of  the  Uganda  Railway 
is  now  absolutely  swarming  with  game. 

Such  preserves  should  be  set  aside  in  Alaska, 
while  land  is  yet  of  little  value.  Districts  should  be 
selected  where  there  is  little  or  no  mineral  wealth ; 
arid  there  are  abundant  areas  of  that  description  in 
Alaska.  Certain  islands  should  also  be  utilized, 
particularly  in  southeastern  Alaska.*  Beyond 
doubt  such  refuges  will  be  ultimately  established, 
but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  can  be  done  before  the 
game  has  been  decimated  and  the  forests  cut  down 
or  burned. 

Another  element  in  game  protection  is  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Indian  to  the  wild  game.  This  problem 

*The  question  of  Alaska  game  refuges  has  received  the 
attention  of  the  Game  Preservation  Committee,  and  vari- 
ous plans  for  establishing  them  have  been  given  careful 
thought.  No  announcements  on  the  subject  have  as  yet 
been  made  by  the  Committee.  One  of  the  last  acts  of 
President  Taft's  administration  was  the  setting  aside  by 
proclamation  the  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  for  a  game 
and  fish  preserve.  Reindeer  have  been  placed  on  the 
island  of  Afognak,  which  has  long  been  a  refuge. 

372 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

is  not  as  serious  in  Alaska  as  it  is  in  parts  of  British 
Columbia  and  the  Canadian  Northwest,  and  is 
settling  itself  by  the  rapid  decline  of  the  Indian 
population.  Indians,  after  they  have  been  in 
contact  with  white  men,  certainly  are  extremely 
destructive  to  animal  life.  An  Indian  with  a  gun 
will  shoot  at  anything  he  sees  until  his  ammunition 
is  gone.  These  people  seem  to  be  devoid  of  any 
idea  of  economy  in  slaughtering,  even  though  they 
know  that  they  are  certain  to  suffer  from  starvation 
as  a  result  of  their  indiscriminate  waste  of  game. 
Any  legislation,  therefore,  that  gives  Indians  priv- 
ileges superior  to  the  whites  is  based,  not  on  scien- 
tific, but  on  sentimental  considerations. 

To  exempt  the  Indians  from  the  limitation  of 
game  laws  in  a  district  partly  inhabited  by  white 
men,  simply  puts  the  white  hunter  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, and  always  results  in  a  contempt  for  the  law 
on  the  part  of  the  latter.  If  an  Indian  is  allowed 
to  hunt  freely  during  the  closed  season,  he  is 
usually  employed  by  whites  for  market  hunting. 
The  game  he  kills  finds  its  way  to  the  white  man's 
market  rather  than  to  the  tipis  of  the  tribe,  or  is 
used  as  food  by  the  Indian's  dogs,  with  the  ulti- 
mate result  that  the  food  supply  of  the  entire  tribe 
is  killed  off  for  the  benefit  of  a  few  hunters. 

In  the  abundance  of  the  salmon  the  Indians  of 

373 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Alaska  have  a  food  supply  which  is  available 
throughout  the  most  of  the  district,  and  they  are 
consequently  not  entitled  to  any  special  privileges. 
Alaska  is,  and  for  a  long  time  should  remain,  the 
ward  of  the  Federal  Government — however  dis- 
tasteful this  may  be  to  some  of  its  inhabitants.  It 
is  peculiarly  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government 
to  preserve  and  control  the  wild  game  of  this 
national  domain,  because  the  people  of  the  United 
States  as  a  whole  are  the  ones  most  interested  in 
its  preservation.  It  is  to  Congress,  rather  than  to 
the  residents  of  Alaska,  that  we  must  look  for  the 
enactment  and  enforcement  of  suitable  laws,  to 
seize  the  last  great  opportunity  to  preserve  our 
native  fauna  on  a  large  scale.  In  the  future,  no 
doubt,  we  shall  restore  game  and  perhaps  forests 
to  many  districts  now  stripped  of  both,  but  in 
Alaska  we  have  our  last  chance  to  preserve  and 
protect  rather  than  to  restore. 

The  claim  made  by  many  Western  communities, 
that  local  State  laws  are  sufficient  for  game  preser- 
vation, is  constantly  disproved  by  the  inability  of 
several  States  to  control  the  small  game  supply  left 
within  their  own  borders.  Colorado,  is  an  example 
of  the  diminution  of  game  under  State  control.  In 
Canada,  British  Columbia  prides  itself  on  the 
efficiency  of  its  game  laws,  but  the  game  is  vanish- 

374 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

irig  there  rapidly,  although  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  that  province  it  is  the  Stoney  Indians,  rather 
than  white  hunters,  who  are  the  chief  destroyers. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  game  conditions, 
Alaska  is  divided  into  two  entirely  distinct  regions. 
First,  the  Coast  Region,  from  Portland  Canal 
along  the  base  of  the  mountains  northward,  and 
then  westward,  to  and  including  the  Aleutian 
Islands. 

The  second  region  comprises  the  interior  beyond 
the  mountains,  and  is  co-extensive  with  the  region 
drained  by  the  Yukon  and  its  various  branches. 

In  these  two  regions  conditions  differ  widely, 
and  practically  all  the  sportsmen  who  go  to-  Alaska 
hunt  in  the  coast  region.  Those  who  cross  into 
the  interior  are  likely  to  confine  their  shooting  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon  in  Canadian  territory. 

The  game  on  the  coast  between  Portland  Canal 
and  Mt.  St.  Elias  consists  principally  of  bear  and 
the  small  Sitka  deer.  On  the  mainland,  close 
enough  to  salt  water  to  be  easily  reached,  white 
goats  are  abundant. 

To  reach  moose,  caribou  or  sheep  from  the 
southeastern  coast,  requires  a  journey  over  the 
mountains  into  British  Columbia,  which  is  seldom 
attempted,  except  from  Fort  Wrangell  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Stikeen  River. 

375 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

West  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps  and  around  Cook 
Inlet,  the  principal  game  animals  are  the  giant 
moose  and  white  sheep  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  the 
caribou  and  bear  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  and  the 
bear  of  some  of  the  large  islands,  notably  Kodiak. 
It  is  in  this  district  that  the  game  laws  require  close 
attention  and  rigid  enforcement. 

In  the  vast  interior  the  strict  enforcement  of 
game  laws  is  not  so  important,  because  the  entire 
region  drained  by  the  Yukon  is  covered  with 
heavy  forests,  and  the  population  is  largely  con- 
fined to  waterways. 

Black  bear,  lynx  and  moose  are  everywhere 
abundant,  but  seldom  seen  along  the  Yukon  River. 
Sheep  are  accessible  from  points  on  the  Upper 
Yukon,  notably  at  Eagle,  and  caribou  occasionally 
cross  the  river  in  herds  at  that  point. 

The  game  laws  for  this  district  should  aim 
principally  at  the  prevention  of  slaughter  on  a 
large  scale  for  market  purposes,  and  of  hide  and 
head  hunting.  There  are  very  few  sportsmen,  and 
the  miners  and  prospectors  in  the  interior  are  diffi- 
cult to  control. 

Wolves. — Wolves  are  abundant  at  points  on  the 
coast  and  throughout  the  interior.  In  the  north, 
around  the  region  drained  by  the  Porcupine  River, 
they  assume  very  large  dimensions,  some  skins 

376 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

measuring  nearly  six  feet  from  nose  to  tip  of  tail. 
A  large  percentage  of  these  wolves  are  black. 
Coyotes  have  pushed  north  from  the  American 
boundary  as  far  as  White  Horse,  at  the  headwaters 
of  the  Yukon  River. 

Foxes. — Red,  cross,  silver  and  black  foxes  occur 
in  the  interior.  The  two  latter  command  enor- 
mous prices,  in  some  cases  as  high  as  $1,000  for 
one  skin.  These  animals  are  being  killed  off  by 
the  use  of  poison  in  the  hands  of  white  men,  and 
many  more  are  destroyed  than  are  recovered.  The 
natives  are  afraid  to  use  poison,  owing  to  several 
tragedies  which  have  occurred  from  its  careless 
handling. 

Along  the  Arctic  and  Bering  Sea  coast  white 
foxes  abound,  and  blue  fox:es  are  found  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon  River  southward,  their  center 
of  abundance  being  Nelson  Island,  in  Bering  Sea, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim  River. 

Bear. — Bear  are  extremely  abundant  in  Alaska, 
especially  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Their  great  num- 
bers are  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have 
an  abundant  food  supply  in  the  great  schools  of 
salmon  that  ascend  the  rivers.  Before  the  arrival 
of  the  salmon,  these  bear,  like  the  grizzlies  of  our 
own  Rockies,  feed  on  spermophiles  and  grass. 
During  the  salmon  season  they  are  easily  found 

377 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

and  killed  by  hunters,  and  as  this  occurs  during 
the  summer  season,  their  fur  is  of  very  little  value. 
The  period  of  the  salmon  run,  in  fact  the  entire 
summer,  should  be  made  a  closed  season  for  bear 
throughout  this  district.  Owing  to  the  recent  de- 
cline in  the  price  of  bear  skins,  these  splendid  ani- 
mals have  been  hunted  rather  less  than  formerly. 

The  black  bear  occurs  commonly  in  Vancouver 
and  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  but  as  far  as  I  know 
not  in  any  of  the  large  islands  north.  They  are, 
however,  found  along  the  mainland  of  the  south- 
eastern coast,  and  probably  everywhere  through 
the  interior  in  the  timbered  region.  The  blue  or 
glacier  bear  is  found  rarely  around  the  glaciers  of 
the  Mt.  St.  Elias  region. 

Grizzlies  occur  in  considerable  numbers  along 
the  mainland  of  the  coast  as  far  north  as  Skagway, 
and  are  found  in  relatively  small  numbers  through- 
out the  interior.  There  are  very  few  grizzly  bears 
on  the  Seward  Peninsula,  and  I  was  unable  to  get 
any  skulls  or  to  obtain  any  definite  data  concerning 
them.  This  bear  may  prove  an  interesting  type  if 
a  sufficient  series  of  specimens  could  be  obtained. 

There  are  huge  bears  found  on  the  large  islands 
around  Juneau  and  Sitka,  which  have  been  referred 
to  two  separate  species,  and  their  numbers  are  in- 
dicated by  the  fact  that  about  seventy-five  animals, 

378 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  In  Alaska 

the  majority  being  of  these   species,    are  killed' 
annually  around  Juneau. 

The  brown  bear  group  extends  from  this  point 
westward  along  the  south  coast  of  Alaska,  out  into 
the  Alaska  Peninsula.  Several  species  have  been 
described,  but  they  can  all  be  grouped  together 
under  the  common  designation  of  Alaska  brown 
bear.  They  extend  far  up  the  Copper  River,  but 
I  could  not  obtain  any  definite  record  of  the  occur- 
rence of  members  of  this  group  north  of  the  moun- 
tain region  and  in  the  area  drained  by  the  Yukon. 

Polar  bear  occur  quite  abundantly  north  of 
Bering  Straits.  Occasionally  they  are  found  on 
the  Seward  Peninsula,  and  occur  as  far  south  as 
St.  Matthew's  Island,  in  the  middle  of  Bering  Sea. 

Caribou. — Caribou  of  several  species  are  more 
or  less  abundant  throughout  Alaska,  and  occur  in 
herds  around  the  Upper  Yukon,  with  localities  of 
especial  abundance,  such  as  the  head  of  Forty  Mile 
River.  An  examination  of  the  antlers  found  at 
various  points,  from  the  Upper  Yukon  River  to- 
the  sea,  would  indicate  an  almost  complete  transi- 
tion of  antler  type  from  the  Woodland  (Osborn) 
caribou,  to  the  Barren  Ground  (Grant)  caribou. 
A  further  study  of  the  caribou  of  this  region  Will 
ultimately  lead  to  a  merging  of  the  various  species. 
The  work  of  Charles  Sheldon  in  the  study  of  sheep 

379 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

in  the  Mt.  McKinley  district,  has  broken  down  the 
specific  distinctions  of  the  sheep  in  Alaska  in  the 
same  way. 

That  caribou  were  formerly  very  abundant 
on  the  Seward  Peninsula  is  proved  by  the  abund- 
ance of  bleached  skulls  and  cast  antlers,  apparently 
about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  old.  The  cause 
of  their  disappearance  is  as  yet  unknown.  The 
possession  of  firearms  by  the  natives,  first  obtained 
from  whalers,  is  by  some  considered  as  the  cause, 
and  by  others  epidemics.  The  natives  themselves 
claim  that  about  a  generation  ago  the  winter  cold 
continued  throughout  an  entire  year,  and  all  the 
caribou  perished  in  consequence.  All  these  ex- 
planations leave  much  to  be  desired,  as  there  is  an 
abundance  of  caribou  in  the  wooded  district  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Peninsula,  and  the  explanation 
of  the  fact  that  in  the  course  of  all  these  years  the 
caribou  have  not  wandered  back  to  their  old  feed- 
ing grounds  remains  to  be  given.  A  few  scattered 
individuals  are  all  that  have  been  seen  since  the 
founding  of  Nome. 

Domestic  reindeer  have  been  introduced  into 
Alaska  successfully,  and  form  a  valuable  resource 
for  the  natives.  I,  however,  saw  nothing  of  them. 
Their  meat  forms  a  part  of  the  menu  in  the  vari- 
out  restaurants  at  Nome. 

380 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

Moose. — Moose  occur  everywhere  throughout 
Alaska  within  the  timbered  region,  but  seldom 
leave  the  shelter  of  the  woods.  They  extend  close 
to  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  the  north,  and  occasionally 
wander  far  out  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula.  The 
giant  moose  occurs  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  but  it 
is  probable  that  this  animal  is  only  an  outlying 
member  of  the  type  species,  which  in  that  district, 
for  some  unknown  reason,  produces  antlers  of 
extraordinary  size  and  complexity.  A  few  in- 
stances of  moose  with  antlers  of  great  size  are 
known  in  the  interior,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  or  not  in  bodily  size  the  Kenai  Peninsula 
moose  excels  his  kin  in  the  interior,  or  in  the 
Yukon  Territory. 

Mountain  Sheep. — Sheep  occur  everywhere  in 
the  mountain  regions  throughout  Alaska;  being 
especially  abundant  in  the  country  around  the 
Upper  Yukon  and  around  Mt.  McKinley,  extend- 
ing thence  as  far  south  and  west  as  the  Kenai 
Peninsula.  They  also  occur  on  the  Upper  Porcu- 
pine River,  but  the  great  Yukon  Valley  in  its  lower 
reaches  is  without  sheep. 

Mountain  Goat. — Goats  occur  throughout  the 
mainland  from  the  United  States  boundary  north, 
but  are  never  found,  as  far  as  I  know,  on  any  of 
the  islands  lying  close  along  the  coast  in  southeast- 

381 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ern  Alaska.  In  size  and  abundance  the  mountain 
goat  appears  to  culminate  in  the  region  around  the 
White  Horse  Pass,  where  they  are  very  numerous 
They  can  still  be  seen  within  a  half  day's  march  of 
Skagway.  They  occur  in  abundance  around  the 
St.  Elias  Alps,  and  extend  as  far  west  as  the  head 
of  Cook  Inlet.  I  only  heard  of  one  doubtful  case 
of  Kennedy's  goat,  the  horns  of  which  have  been 
described  as  lyrate. 

Walrus  and  Whales. — Walrus  are  found  every 
winter  and  spring  in  the  Bering  Sea,  and  many 
are  killed  at  that  season  by  the  natives  for  the 
ivory,  which  sells  at  a  dollar  a  pound.  The  walrus 
formerly  extended  down  to  the  Alaska  Peninsula 
and  Aleutian  Islands,  but  the  rookeries  there  have 
been  destroyed.  This  great  mammal  should  re- 
ceive absolute  protection  in  the  entire  Bering  Sea 
region,  except  on  the  Pribilof  Islands,  where  only 
a  few  are  annually  killed  by  the  natives. 

Whales  and  porpoises  occur  in  great  abundance 
along  the  inside  passage  between  Puget  Sound  and 
Lynn  Canal  and  are  interesting  and  harmless. 
There  are  now  two  plants  on  Vancouver  Island 
very  profitably  engaged  in  killing  whale  of  all  sizes 
and  converting  them  into  fertilizer.  A  new  plant 
has  just  been  established  near  Juneau,  where 
whales  are  especially  abundant.  It  would  be  an 

382 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

easy  matter  to  protect  these  animals,  especially  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  Canadian  authorities, 
throughout  the  inland  passages  and  oceanward  as 
far  as  the  three  mile  limit.  Protective  legislation 
of  this  sort  should  be  urged. 

Fossils. — In  any  review  of  the  present  game 
conditions  of  the  vast  territory  comprised  within 
the  districts  of  Alaska  and  the  Canadian  Territory 
of  the  Yukon,  a  few  remarks  on  the  former  occur- 
rence of  related  forms  are  not  without  interest. 

Bones  of  large  extinct  mammals,  more  or  less 
fossilized,  occur  in  abundance  throughout  the  en- 
tire valley  drained  by  the  Yukon  River  from  Daw- 
son  down,  and  the  valleys  of  the  Colville  and 
Porcupine  Rivers,  and  in  still  greater  abundance 
on  the  Seward  Peninsula,  that  projection  of  Alaska 
which  reaches  to  within  sixty  miles  of  Siberia. 
Throughout  this  enormous  area  remains  of  the 
mammoth  and  bison  occur  in  such  numbers  as  to 
indicate  former  herds  of  great  size.  We  find  also 
a  smaller  number  of  remains  of  horses,  sheep,  two 
species  of  musk-ox  and  a  camel,  together  with  a 
deer  closely  related  to  our  wapiti.  Teeth  of 
mastodon,  although  very  rare  as  compared  with 
those  of  the  mammoth,  indicate  the  former  exist- 
ence of  that  animal.  It  is  perfectly  evident  that 
in  times  comparatively  recent,  from  a  geological 

383 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

point  of  view,  perhaps  from  10,000  to  25,000 
years  ago,  Alaska  had  a  fauna  of  large  mammals 
not  altogether  dissimilar  to  existing  animals  of 
North  America  and  northern  Asia.*  The  masto- 
don and  mammoth,  of  course,  no  longer  exist  on 
this  continent,  but  the  latter  is  a  true  elephant,  well 
fitted  to  meet  boreal  conditions,  and  the  horses  in 
Alaska  were  probably  not  unlike  the  wild 
Prjevalsky  horses  of  Asia  to-day. 

The  ancient  Alaska  deer  were  probably  related 
to  the  wapiti,  which  swarmed  over  our  American 
plains  within  the  memory  of  living  man,  and  the 
fossil  remains  of  caribou  and  moose  do  not  indicate 
any  great  departure  from  the  living  forms  of  those 
animals. 

Sheep  still  occur  abundantly  in  Alaska,  and  the 
musk-ox,  while  no  longer  found  in  Alaska,  inhabits 
the  no  less  inhospitable  regions  of  the  Barren 
Grounds  of  North  America,  and  the  land  masses 
lying  still  further  north.  The  extermination  of 
this  animal  in  Alaska  is  very  recent. 

Bison  skulls  are  quite  common,  and  indicate  an 
animal  much  larger,  but  probably  ancestral  to  our 


*A  mammoth  with  some  skin  and  hair  intact  was  found 
by  my  companion  at  Eschscholtz  Bay  in  the  summer  of  1907, 
and  the  specimens  are  now  in  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  New  York. 

384 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

living  buffalo.  The  history  of  the  American  bison, 
which  has  a  very  large  range  of  migration,  sug- 
gests that  it  is  quite  possible  that  these  animals  did 
not  habitually  spend  the  winter  in  Alaska,  but  on 
the  approach  of  the  cold  season  migrated  south- 
ward to  warmer  climates,  or  crossed  into  Siberia 
on  the  former  land  connection  over  what  are  now 
Bering  Straits.  If  this  hypothesis  be  correct,  the 
climate  of  Alaska  during  the  Pleistocene  and  re- 
cent periods,  may  not  have  radically  differed  from 
its  climate  of  to-day. 

The  extension  of  placer  mining  in  Alaska,  when 
conducted  in  a  more  systematic  manner  than  at 
present,  will  undoubtedly  bring  to  light  other 
forms  of  large  mammals,  most  probably  types  re- 
lated to  those  already  mentioned,  together  with 
the  remains  of  carnivorous  types. 

The  above  article  was  written  in  1907,  and  be- 
fore its  publication  in  the  current  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club  Book  these  notes  should  be  added: 

The  range  of  the  brown  bear  of  Alaska,  which 
has  long  been  a  disputed  question,  is  now  known 
to  extend  as  far  north  at  least  as  the  Kobuk  River, 
within  300  miles  of  Point  Barrow,  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  further  investigation  will  still  further 
extend  this  range. 

385 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  remarks  about  the  walrus  and  whales  have 
been  unfortunately  confirmed  by  the  event.  Nor- 
wegian whalers  are  now  operating  against  these 
huge  and  unwieldy  animals  in  the  waters  of  Bering 
Sea,  and  unless  immediate  steps  are  taken  to  pro- 
tect them  by  treaty,  it  is  probable  that  they  will 
soon  join  the  Rhytina  of  the  same  region  in  the  list 
of  exterminated  animals. 

Whaling  is  now  carried  on  in  waters  of  the  In- 
land Passage  with  great  activity.  Protection 
through  international  action  here  also  is  greatly 
needed  to  save  these  mammals.  It  is  a  pity  that 
the  work,  energy  and  time  expended  over  the  mis- 
erable fur  seal  controversy,  now  raging,  could  not 
have  been  applied  also  to  the  preservation  of  these 
forms  of  marine  life,  which  are  far  more  in  danger 
than  the  fur  seals,  since  the  latter,  having  a  com- 
mercial value,  were  bound  to  attract  attention 
sooner  or  later. 

Alaska  has  now  a  Territorial  Legislature,  which 
will  undoubtedly  claim  the  right  to  regulate  its 
own  game  laws,  but  if  control  of  the  making  and 
enforcement  of  the  regulations  be  turned  over  to 
the  residents,  without  Federal  control,  it  will  be 
the  death  knell  of  many  species  of  the  game.  The 
men  who  live  in  Alaska  constitute  a  floating  popu- 
lation— for  the  most  part  of  miners  whoi  have  no 

386 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

permanent  interest  in  the  country  in  the  sense  that 
farmers  are  attached  to  the  soil.  The  stable  ele^ 
ments  of  the  population  are  chiefly  the  keepers  of 
local  saloons  or  road  houses.  Miners  are  accus- 
tomed to  live  off  the  country,  with  little  care  for  its 
future.  It  would  be  extreme  folly  to  entrust  to 
such  a  population  the  formulation  and  enforcement 
of  complicated  game  laws,  which  require  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the  animals. 

The  Alaskans  have  certainly  no  right  to  com- 
plain of  the  present  laws,  which  permit  any  game 
animal  or  game  bird  to  be  killed  by  natives  at  any 
time  for  food  or  clothing,  and  by  miners  or  ex- 
plorers at  any  time  when  in  need  of  food.  Pros- 
pectors, wandering  about  the  country,  should  of 
course  be  allowed  to  kill  what  they  require  for  their 
daily  needs,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  miners,  or 
men  working  in  an  established  mining  camp,  should 
be  allowed  to  kill  wild  game  during  the  close  sea- 
son, while  those  engaged  in  building  railroads,  or 
operating  them,  or  keeping  saloons,  are  forbidden 
the  privilege. 

The  jealous  consideration  of  our  legislators  for 
the  poor  Indian  and  for  the  honest  miner  has  gone 
too  far,  and  the  only  effective  remedy  is  game 
refuges.  These  are  slowly  increasing  in  number, 
and  several  additions  have  recently  been  made — 

387 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

notably  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula.  The  number  of 
game  and  bird  refuges  in  Alaska  should  be  in- 
creased, and  this  is  a  matter  well  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 

More  wardens  are  required  rather  than  more 
law.  Indians  should  be  kept  well  in  hand  while 
moose  hunting,  as  they  kill  cows  in  preference  to 
bulls,  on  the  ground  that  the  meat  is  more  tender 
and  consequently  more  salable. 

The  present  game  laws  operate  perfectly  against 
visiting  sportsmen,  and  apparently  this  is  the  only 
feature  that  commends  itself  to  the  natives.  It  is 
the  same  old  story,  the  natives  kill  the  game  reck- 
lessly and  then  blame  the  visiting  sportsmen.  The 
cowboy,  miner  and  farmer  killed  the  game  in  our 
West,  and  are  killing  it  now  in  Alaska,  ably 
assisted  by  the  Indian  with  modern  rifles. 

As  an  example  of  what  we  may  expect  from  a 
local  administration  of  the  law,  the  annual  reports 
of  the  former  Governor  of  Alaska,  Walter  E. 
Clark,  are  edifying  reading.  This  gentleman,  who 
is  deliciously  ingenuous,  demands  that  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  be  turned  over  to  the  local  Legis- 
lature, which  he  is  sure  is  qualified  for  the  job. 
When  Senator  Dillingham  visited  Alaska,  some 
years  ago,  and  consulted  the  prominent  citizens  of 
the  various  towns  along  the  Yukon  about  the  game 

388 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  <n  Alaska 

of  Alaska,  he  received  the  startling  information 
that  the  bear  of  Alaska  are  so  numerous  that  they 
could  not  be  exterminated  in  a  century,  and  so 
ferocious  that  only  numerous  and  heavily  armed 
parties  dared  to  venture  into  the  interior.  On  his 
return  the  Senator  recommended  the  practical  re- 
peal of  all  the  Alaska  game  laws,  an  effort  which 
was  defeated  by  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 

In  the  same  manner  the  present  Governor,  hav- 
ing consulted  the  local  bar-room  bear  hunter,  is 
greatly  concerned  about  the  danger  to  humanity 
from  brown  bear.  He  uses  in  1911,  the  following 
language,  after  stating  that  the  close  season  for 
brown  bear  should  be  repealed : 

"The  least  that  can  be  said  of  the  legal  protec- 
tion of  brown  bear  in  Alaska  is  that  it  is  an  absurd- 
ity. If  this  protection  is  continued,  the  menace  to 
human  life  will  be  still  more  serious,  and  agricul- 
ture and  stock  raising  in  some  of  the  most  favored 
regions  in  the  Territory  will  be  discouraged. 

"The  Superintendent  of  the  Government's  ex- 
perimental stock  farm  on  Kodiak  Island,  makes  a 
strong  appeal  for  the  protection  of  settlers  and 
live  stock  against  the  ravages  of  brown  bear,  de- 
claring that  it  has  become  a  question  whether  we 
shall  have  a  game  preserve  or  a  great  agricultural 
and  stock  raising  region  on  Kodiak  Island." 

389 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

The  basis  of  this  story  seems  to  be  an  attack  on 
sheep  by  a  single  brown  bear,  which  was  promptly 
killed  by  the  owner  of  the  sheep.  The  brown 
bear  on  Kodiak  Island  is  unfortunately  so  close  to 
extinction  that  it  is  probable  that  in  a  short  time 
a  specimen  will  be  of  considerably  more  value  than 
many  sheep.  The  recent  ash  shower  on  this  island 
from  Katmai  volcano  has  probably  worked  great 
injury  to  them,  if  it  has  not  entirely  destroyed 
them. 

In  1912,  in  his  report  on  the  game,  the  learned 
Governor  comes  back  to  the  subject  in  the  follow- 
ing language: 

"Attention  has  been  invited  repeatedly  to  the 
condition  which  prevails  on  Kodiak  Island  as  a 
result  of  the  legal  protection  of  the  brown  bear. 
Kodiak  is  a  very  large  island,  having  a  larger 
population  than  any  other  in  Alaska  of  equal  size. 
Some  small  farming  and  some  rather  extensive 
stock  raising  have  been  undertaken.  Yet  the  cattle 
and  sheep  are  frequently  being  killed  by  the  vicious 
and  increasingly  plentiful  brown  bears,  which  are 
protected  by  a  three  months'  closed  season,  and 
human  beings  are  not  infrequently  attacked.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  conditions  of  human  habitation 
outside  the  larger  towns  in  Alaska  are  far  from 
easy,  but  when  the  hard  conditions  of  life  are  en- 

390 


The  Condition  of  Wild  Life  in  Alaska 

hanced  by  the  continued  legal  protection  of  wild 
animals,  which  at  the  best  are  a  pest  and  at  the 
worst  a  fatal  menace  to  human  life,  popular  respect 
for  law  and  the  administration  of  government  is 
not  increased.  The  long  list  of  legal  outrages 
which  are  perpetrated  by  the  present  game  law 
would  be  promptly  abolished  if  Congress,  in  its 
wisdom,  had  seen  fit  to  entrust  this  simple  and  ele- 
mentary subject  of  legislation  to  the  new  Terri- 
torial General  Assembly." 

As  a  further  evidence  of  this  gentleman's  quali- 
fications as  game  expert  and  zoologist,  I  quote  still 
further  from  his  report  of  1912: 

"An  intimation  of  the  present  incongruous  con- 
dition is  given  when  it  is  stated  that  brown  bears 
are  denominated  as  game,  and  are  protected  by  the 
game  regulations,  while  black  bears  are  regarded 
as  fur-bearing  animals,  subject  to  the  regulations 
administered  by  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries.  Yet  the 
workings  of  nature  are  such  that  of  the  same  litter 
some  bears  are  black  and  others  are  brown." 

Thus  the  cinnamon  bear  of  the  West  has  become 
transformed  into  the  gigantic  Alaska  brown  bear 
through  the  "mysterious  workings  of  nature.1' 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  new  Governor  of 
Alaska  will  inform  himself  on  the  facts  and  acquire 
some  elementary  knowledge  of  the  subject  before 

391 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

he  attempts  to  make  recommendations  on  the  game 
laws,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  new  Governor 
will  ever  attain  the  pinnacle  of  grotesque  absurdity 
occupied  by  the  picturesque  Walter  E.  Clark. 

Madison  Grant. 
New  York,  May  10,  1913. 


392 


DEER  HUNTING  IN  CUBA 

The  love  of  hunting  is  inherent  in  man,  and 
deer  hunting  is  a  sport  that  numbers  among  its 
votaries  men  in  all  walks  of  life.  It  possesses  a 
peculiar  charm,  that,  once  absorbed  by  the  system, 
cannot  be  eradicated. 

Those  who  have  not  experienced  it  cannot  at  all 
appreciate  the  great  pleasure  to  be  derived  from 
killing  big  game  in  a  wild  country,  surrounded  by 
undisturbed  nature — the  enjoyment  increasing  with 
the  danger  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  hunt.  The 
mere  killing  of  an  animal,  however,  does  not  con- 
vey pleasure  or  constitute  sport,  for  man  is  not  in- 
stinctively blood-thirsty;  but  the  triumph  of  con- 
quering and  capturing  an  animal,  which  pits  its 
cunning  and  speed  against  your  endurance  and 
skill,  gives  to  the  sport  a  zest  so  keen  that  it  sets 
one's  nerves  a-tingle.  The  thrill  experienced  in 
seeing  one's  first  deer  go  down  can  hardly  be  de- 
scribed in  words. 

All  deer  hunts  are  naturally  more  or  less  alike, 
and  accounts  of  those  devoid  of  special  accident  or 

393 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

incident  are  likely  to  be  monotonous.  I  have 
already  written  an  article  on  deer  hunting,  for  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  series,  yet  I  trust  that  this  new 
setting  will  excuse  another. 

Writers  have  sadly  neglected  the  possibilities  of 
Cuba  from  the  sportsman's  view-point.  Few 
Americans  have  hunted  there,  and  I  have  heard 
many  sportsmen  express  surprise  to  learn  that  good 
deer  hunting  was  to  be  had  in  this  charming  coun- 
try of  romantic  history. 

In  Cuba,  as  in  the  United  States,  deer  hold  their 
own  better  than  other  large  game,  and  although 
the  warfare  against  them  has  been  constant,  they 
are  still  found  throughout  the  island. 

In  1906,  it  was  not  unusual  for  a  hunter  to-  leave 
Havana  in  an  automobile  on  a  deer  hunt  in  the 
morning,  and  the  same  night  return  to  the  city  with 
a  deer.  In  fact  many  deer  have  recently  been 
killed  within  six  or  eight  miles  of  Havana.  Good 
hunting  has  always  been  had  along  the  southern 
coast,  and  in  the  provinces  of  Pinar  del  Rio,  San- 
tiago and  Puerto  Principe,  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Guantanamo  I  found  deer  abundant.  Com- 
paratively a  few  years  ago  large  numbers  of  hides 
were  annually  exported  from  Bayamo.  In  the  Isla 
de  Pinos,  Isla  de  Furiguana  and  many  other  small 
islands  that  at  low  tide  are  almost  connected  with 

394 


ADULT  MALE  AND  FEMALE  ELEPHANT  SEAL,  GUADALUPE  ISLAND. 
The  male  is  in  threatening  attitude.     His  length  was  16  feet. 


ADULT  MALE   ELEPHANT  SEAL,   GUADALUPE   ISLAND. 

The  scarred  neck,  calloused  by  much  fighting,   is  well  shown   in  this  picture. 

(See   page  406.) 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

the  mainland  by  a  series  of  sand  banks,  deer  were 
plentiful. 

Among  the  first  to  hunt  deer  in  the  island  were 
the  French,  and  their  influence  in  hunting  and 
shooting  matters  is  still  evident,  especially  in  the 
eastern  end  of  the  island. 

Although  the  law  establishes  a  close  season  from 
February  i  to  September  i,  and  the  penalty  for 
killing  out  of  season  is  from  five  to  fifty  dollars 
and  the  confiscation  of  arms,  the  law  is  not  en- 
forced and  is  little  regarded.  Were  the  hunters 
armed  with  modern  guns  and  possessed  of  the 
energy  and  keenness  of  the  average  American 
sportsman,  the  process  of  extinction  would  be 
rapid.  As  it  is,  the  ruinous,  out  of  season,  wanton 
slaughter  is  kept  up  with  painful  regularity.  Some 
fair,  true  sportsmen  kill  only  in  season,  and  then 
in  moderation;  but  I  met  and  heard  of  others  to 
whom  the  fair  code  of  a  true  sportsman  was 
unknown.  Some,  for  instance,  were  guilty  of  kill- 
ing a  doe  carrying  her  fawns. 

The  Cuban  deer  (venado)  belong  in  the  same 
group  with  our  Virginia  deer.  Though  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  ordinary  whitetail,  they  are  larger 
than  the  Florida  and  Mexican  deer,  but  have  the 
small  antlers  and  scanty  pelage  of  the  latter. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  deer  were  originally 
395 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

brought  from  Jamaica  and  Hayti,  where  they  were 
introduced  by  the  French  and  English.  My  belief 
is  they  came  originally  from  the  United  States  and 
Mexico.  In  a  tour  of  Jamaica,  I  found  no  one 
who  had  ever  indulged  in  deer  hunting  in  that 
island. 

The  Cuban  deer  average  36  inches  in  height  and 
weigh  from  80  to  85  pounds.  The  largest  I  killed 
weighed  130  pounds,  and  was  considered  quite  a 
large  one.  His  antlers,  now  occupying  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  my  library,  would  indicate,  from  size 
of  beam  and  tine,  an  animal  even  larger.  These 
deer  have  unusually  large  and  lustrous  eyes,  and 
with  their  exquisite  symmetry  and  graceful  move- 
ments, are  a  delight  to  the  eye  of  the  hunter  ac- 
customed to  the  stately  deer  of  the  North — the 
big  whitetail  and  blacktail.  The  flesh  is  rather 
dark,  with  a  very  fine  grain  and  a  flavor  peculiarly 
its  own,  not  unlike  that  of  our  blacktail.  The 
brains,  properly  stewed,  are  esteemed  a  luxury. 

Their  habits  are  similar  to  those  of  the  whitetail, 
and  like  them,  they  are  good  swimmers.  When 
hard  pressed  by  hounds  they  invariably  make  for 
water  at  the  second  or  third  break  from  the  timber. 

They  run  with  a  light,  quick,  buoyant  move- 
ment, with  flag  up,  and  seldom  bound  like  the  mule 
deer,  except  when  suddenly  surprised — at  which 

396 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

time  they  have  the  appearance  of  being  much 
larger  than  they  really  are.  Not  so  keen  sighted 
as  the  antelope,  they  yet  possess  remarkable  powers 
of  vision,  and  are  especially  quick  to  notice  any 
moving  object,  which  makes  stalking  almost  an 
impossibility. 

So  far  as  my  observations  extended,  there  is  no 
well  marked  season  of  rut  or  of  the  birth  of  the 
young.  Though  most  numerous  in  the  early  spring, 
it  would  seem  that,  as  there  is  no  severe  cold 
weather,  nature  has  not  provided  the  usual  pro- 
tection for  the  young,  and  as  in  the  tropics  there 
is  practically  no  season  with  reference  to  tempera- 
ture and  vegetation,  there  is  none  well  defined  for 
breeding. 

In  hunting  them  I  discovered  no  new  distinctive 
phases  of  deer  character.  They  feed  at  night,  and 
in  the  early  evening  wade  into  the  small  lakes 
(lagunas)  in  search  of  succulent  lilies  and  delicate 
aquatic  plants.  Their  favorite  food  is  the  creep- 
ing plants  known  as  lechosa  and  bejucos,  of  which 
they  are  very  fond  and  eat  greedily.  Shortly  after 
daybreak  they  retire  to  the  thickets  or  jungles,  and 
secure  from  intrusion  by  man,  take  their  siesta  in 
almost  impenetrable  haunts.  From  these  situations 
it  is  difficult  to  drive  them,  even  with  well  trained 
hounds. 

397. 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

In  the  wilder  and  more  unsettled  sections  they 
can  be  found  in  the  savanas  until  the  heat  of  the 
day,  hiding  in  the  guinea  and  pajal  grasses,  where 
they  are  less  harassed  by  flies  and  insects.  They 
are  loth  to  leave  such  a  sheltered  retreat,  and  a 
horseman,  unaccompanied  by  dogs,  may  ride  to 
within  a  few  feet  of  them  before  they  break  cover. 

A  greater  variety  of  dogs  is  used  in  deer  hunting 
in  Cuba  than  in  any  half  dozen  other  deer  coun- 
tries of  which  I  know.  In  point  of  numbers  the 
cur,  or  native  dog,  predominates.  Novelties  to  me 
were  the  slow  tracking  Spanish  pointer,  trained  to 
point  quite  as  if  upon  birds,  and  the  Biscaya,  a 
heavy,  low-set  Spanish  hound,  with  remarkably 
large  dew  claws,  and  with  about  as  much  speed  as 
an  average  ice  wagon.  English  beagles,  French 
hounds  and  griffons  were  much  in  evidence,  espe- 
cially in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island.  Of  late 
years  only,  the  American  foxhound  has  begun  to 
find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  local  hunters.  For- 
merly he  was  considered  too  fast.  In  every  sec- 
tion of  the  island,  from  Havana  to>  Santiago,  I 
found  hounds  of  my  own  breeding,  and  was  pleased 
to  note  that  expert  hunters  considered  them  the 
best. 

Ordinarily,  for  deer,  I  prefer  a  slow,  painstak- 
ing, trailing  and  driving  hound;  but  in  these 

398 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

almost  impenetrable  jungles  a  fast  trailing,  hard- 
driving  hound  is  far  better,  as  the  deer  soon  learn 
many  of  the  tricks  of  the  fox  in  throwing  off  the 
hounds,  and  avoid  the  small  clearings,  called 
sabanetones,  where  at  their  stands  the  cigarette- 
smoking  hunters  patiently  await  their  appearance. 
Pottering  along  on  a  cold  trail,  the  slow  hound  will 
sometimes  be  occupied  an  hour  in  forcing  the 
quarry  out  of  a  ten-acre  thicket,  where  he  finds  it 
difficult  to  drive  them  from  the  innumerable  game 
paths  through  the  jungles,  where  they  leave  only 
the  foot  scent,  while  a  fast  hound  allows  them 
little  choice  of  route,  forcing  them  through  the 
thickets,  where  the  scent,  adhering  to  the  bushes, 
vines  and  tall  grasses,  enables  the  fast  hounds  to 
own  the  line  and  trail  them  with  heads  breast  high 
at  full  speed,  and  they  soon  break  for  clearings 
en  route  to  the  rivers  or  lagunas.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  harder  a  deer  is  run  and  the  warmer  he 
becomes  the  more  body  scent  he  gives  off.  The 
native  hunters,  however,  seem  to  prefer  the  slow 
hound,  and  are  contented  to  wait  as  lonely  sentries 
on  a  stand  while  the  slow  hounds  potter  along  on  a 
cold  trail. 

A  hound  three-fourths  foxhound  and  one-fourth 
bloodhound — though  subject  to  black  tongue,  a 
fatal  disease  in  the  tropics — makes  an  ideal  dog 

399 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

for  deer  hunting  in  tropical  countries.  What  the 
bloodhound  cross  loses  in  speed  it  gains  in  nose, 
and  it  has  a  certain  natural  sagacity  which  teaches 
it  not  to  open  on  a  cold  trail — something  much  to 
be  desired  in  jungle  hunting. 

The  shotgun  is  the  favorite  weapon  used  in  this 
sport.  Many  Cubans  and  Spaniards  prefer  the 
i6-gauge  for  deer  as  for  birds,  though  the  rifle  and 
the  10  and  12  gauge  shotgun  are  coming  into 
vogue  as  American  influence  increases. 

The  poorer  classes  use  single-barrel  muzzleload- 
ing  shotguns,  costing  from  three  to  five  dollars, 
which  they  load  with  a  handful  of  powder  and  a 
half  pound  of  leaden  slugs. 

The  better  classes  use  modern  shotguns  or  large 
caliber  repeating  rifles,  according  to  local  condi- 
tions. I  am  not  sure  that  they  are  not  better 
adapted  to  the  purpose  than  our  small  caliber  rifles 
— with  their  great  velocity  and  penetration — pos- 
sessing as  they  do  greater  striking  energy  and  tre- 
mendous shocking  power.  The  small  bullet  of 
high  velocity,  unless  it  passes  through  a  bone, 
allows  a  deer  to  escape  for  the  time  being,  yet  with 
a  mortal  wound,  from  which  it  dies  later  in  the 
jungle.  The  flatness  of  trajectory  and  great 
momentum  of  the  small  caliber  high  power  rifles 
make  them  exceedingly  dangerous  to  other  hunters. 

400 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

In  shooting  at  a  running  deer  every  second  is 
precious,  and  I  have  always  preferred  a  metal  front 
sight,  kept  bright,  with  a  plain  bar  rear  sight.  The 
center  of  sight  is  quickly  and  unmistakably  located. 

The  hunting  is  usually  on  horseback.  The 
party,  generally  consisting  of  from  four  to  six, 
ride  to  a  favorite  jungle,  which  may  be  several 
hundred  acres  in  extent,  and  separated  from  the 
sugar  cane  fields  by  small  clearings.  The  hunters 
station  themselves  on  different  sides,  sitting  on  their 
horses,  so  that  they  may  move  quickly  up  and  down 
the  clearings,  which  frequently  are  not  wider  than 
broad  streets  or  roadways.  If  the  hounds  are  good 
persistent  hunters,  they  are  cast  into  the  thicket 
alone ;  if  they  need  urging  and  assistance,  a  hunter 
— picador — is  sent  in  with  them. 

Some  of  these  thickets  are  almost  impenetrable 
because  of  the  tangled  undergrowth,  and  I  often 
had  to  give  up  attempts  to  penetrate  them.  Not 
so  with  the  native  picador.  Each  is  armed  with 
the  ever-present  and  wonderful  machete,  and  with 
the  peculiar  drawing  wrist  motion  that  no  foreigner 
ever  acquires,  he  can  cut  his  way  through  places 
seemingly  impassable.  The  size  of  the  limb  or  tree 
they  can  cut  with  a  single  stroke  is  almost  beyond 
belief.  The  machete  is  indispensable.  With  it 
they  cut  and  blaze  trails,  dress  and  skin  game, 

401 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

make  huts,  chop  firewood,  or  slice  venison  and 
bacon.  They  use  it  as  a  weapon  of  offense  and 
defense.  I  saw  one  woman,  both  of  whose  arms 
had  been  cut  off  close  to  the  shoulder,  each  with 
a  single  stroke  of  this  terrible  weapon. 

Unless,  as  seldom  happens,  the  chaparral  is 
drawn  blank,  the  jungle  soon  resounds  with  the 
cheering  music  of  the  deep  baying  hounds,  and  for 
a  moment  the  chattering  of  the  many  birds  that 
hitherto  have  kept  up  an  incessant  chorus,  ceases, 
to  be  renewed  with  increased  vigor  when  the  driv- 
ing commences  in  earnest.  A  driven  deer  is  fre- 
quently located  by  the  birds  protesting  in  no  un- 
certain terms  against  his  advance  through  the 
thickets. 

If,  instead  of  a  jump,  the  eager  hounds  find  a 
cold  trail,  they  work  it  out  slowly,  occasionally 
opening  on  it — the  tongue  of  each  individual 
hound — as  familiar  to  the  ear  as  the  voice  of  a 
friend — floating  out  to  the  now  thoroughly  aroused 
hunters,  each  of  whom  seeks  a  point  of  vantage. 
Although  one  is  supposed  to  stick  to  the  stand 
selected,  still  when  the  deer  is  up  and  the  hounds 
are  driving  hard  through  the  bewildering  maze  of 
game  paths,  the  tough  little  native  ponies  have 
plenty  of  work  cut  out  for  them  through  the  efforts 
made  by  each  rider  to  be  at  the  place  the  deer  will 

402 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

leave  the  timber.  Such  moving  about  often  turns 
back  the  deer,  which  prefers  to  take  its  chances 
with  the  hounds  rather  than  with  the  hunters. 
However,  after  being  turned  back  several  times,  a 
moment  comes  when  the  deer  bounds  into  the  open- 
ing. If  it  is  a  young  one,  and  has  not  been  chased 
before,  it  is  likely  to  pause  for  a  few  seconds  at 
the  edge  of  the  clearing,  with  ears  thrown  forward, 
tail  erect,  motionless  as  a  statue,  not  a  muscle 
quivering,  while  it  listens  to  the  distant  music  of 
the  hounds.  It  is  but  an  instant,  however,  before 
sinewy  springs  send  it  bounding  away  across  the 
clearing  like  an  animated  ball,  to  disappear  into  the 
adjoining  jungle.  As  it  vanishes  from  sight,  its 
twinkling  tail  waves  defiance  to  the  hunter  who 
failed  to  take  advantage  of  the  momentary  pause 
and  lost  the  chance  to  bring  the  deer  to  earth.  Few 
hunters,  shooting  from  horseback,  have  the  skill 
required  to  hit  a  running  quarry.  Thoroughly 
warmed,  and  really  alarmed,  the  deer  now  makes 
for  water,  the  hounds,  giving  tongue  at  every 
stride,  hard  upon  his  trail.  Unable  to  throw  them 
off,  he  soon  begins  to  run  from  patch  to  patch  of 
cane  and  through  the  clearings.  The  hunters  have 
scattered  and  follow  as  best  they  can,  guided  by 
the  loud  mouthing  of  the  hounds  and  an  occasional 
glimpse  of  the  deer,  which,  circling  around,  grad- 

403 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

ually  returns  to  the  place  from  which  he  was 
jumped.  Usually  he  is  shot  at  several  times  be- 
fore a  well-directed  charge  from  some  fortune- 
favored  hunter  brings  him  to  earth.  The  horn  is 
then  blown  three  blasts  and  the  hunters  come  to 
"the  kill." 

The  deer  is  bled,  the  viscera  removed,  and  the 
panting  hounds  well  blooded,  after  which  they  are 
examined  for  wounds,  cuts  and  tears,  which  are 
frequent,  and  if  necessary  must  be  sewn  up.  The 
deer  is  then  either  placed  in  a  pannier  or  on  the  pack 
of  an  extra  horse,  and  if  satisfied  with  the  bag  the 
party  returns  to  the  plantation.  If  the  hacienda  of 
a  friend  or  brother  hunter  is  passed,  a  stop  is 
always  made  for  breakfast  or  luncheon,  and  stran- 
gers or  foreigners  in  the  party  are  made  welcome 
and  shown  every  courtesy. 

Each  season  many  of  the  best  hounds — espe- 
cially the  imported  ones — are  killed  by  the  alli- 
gators which  infest  the  streams.  Often  they  allow 
a  deer  to  pass  by,  waiting  for  the  dogs,  for  which 
they  seem  to  have  a  peculiar  fondness.  A  brief 
struggle  and  a  trail  of  blood  alone  tells  of  the 
untimely  end  of  many  a  good  hound.  Because  of 
this  danger,  the  best  shots  are  frequently  stationed 
near  the  water  to  kill  the  deer  and  alligator,  as 
well  as  to  save  the  dogs. 

404 


Deer  Hunting  in  Cuba 

A  successful  deer  hunter  in  Cuba  must  be  en- 
dowed with  some  spirit  of  adventure,  possessed  of 
a  high  degree  of  acuteness  of  observation  and  hear- 
ing, and  must  be  a  good  shot  and  a  first-class 
horseman.  Successful  hunters  are  born,  not  made. 

In  our  own  country  there  is  more  or  less  excite- 
ment "on  stand"  when  a  deer  is  heard  coming,  and 
with  the  novice  this  sometimes  develops  into  buck 
fever.  But  this  is  insipid  excitement  when  com- 
pared to  the  high  nerve  tension  and  keen  thrill 
experienced  in  still-hunting  and  stalking.  This 
sensation  is  denied  the  average  member  of  a  hunt 
club,  who  with  hired  guide  and  hounds  is  guaran- 
teed a  shot,  stationed  on  one  of  a  dozen  stands  in 
the  runways,  each  stand  holding  a  hunter,  no 
two  of  them  equipped  with  the  same  kind  of  gun, 
ammunition  or  hunting  costume.  The  guides  do 
the  hunting,  and  when  the  deer  appears,  a  fusillade 
ensues.  The  guide  finally  brings  down  the  game 
at  long  range,  and  each  of  the  hunters  is  positive 
it  was  uhis  shot,"  and  for  the  rest  of  his  life  tells 
how  some  one  of  his  fellows  deprived  him  of  the 
"largest  buck  ever  killed  in  that  section." 

Hunters  of  this  type  will  do  well  to  give  Cuba 
a  wide  berth,  and  should  do  their  hunting  in  a 
cozy  corner  of  the  club. 

Roger  D.  Williams. 
405 


ELEPHANT  SEALS  OF  GUADALUPE 
ISLAND 

The  elephant  seal  is  the  largest  of  all  fin-footed 
mammals,  a  full-grown  male  exceeding  twenty-two 
feet  in  length,  with  a  greater  girth  than  the  largest 
walrus.  Its  name  is  due  partly  to  its  size  and 
partly  to  the  remarkable  proboscis  developed  by 
the  full-grown  male.  There  are  two  divisions  of 
the  family,  one  living  amid  the  chilly  waters  of 
antarctic  islands,  the  other  along  the  warm  shores 
of  the  Californias.  The  stock  is  of  ancient  lineage, 
and  the  separation  took  place  so  long  ago  that 
marked  differences  have  developed.  In  remote 
South  America  the  young  are  born  in  November, 
when  summer  is  beginning.  North  of  the  equator 
they  first  see  the  light  in  March.  Climate,  season, 
and  food  slowly  wrought  changes  until  the  very 
skull  became  altered,  and  the  Northern  offshoot 
acquired  the  characteristics  of  a  separate  species. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  Northern  elephant  seal  had 
a  range  of  a  thousand  miles  along  the  coasts  of 
Mexico  and  California ;  to-day  it  lives  on  a  single 

406 


ADULT  MALE   ELEPHANT   SEAL,   GUADALUPE   ISLAND. 
When   the  head   is  turned  back,   the  heavy   proboscis  overhangs  to  the   rear. 


SOUTH  END  OF  ELEPHANT  SEAL  ROOKERY,   GUADALUPE   ISLAND. 
Adult  male   in  foreground;   females  and   young  in   background. 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

island.  Then  its  numbers  swarmed  on  coast  and 
islands  alike;  now  it  survives  only  on  an  isolated 
beach.  Unfortunately  for  its  increase,  the  elephant 
seal  yields  a  valuable  oil,  and  about  the  time  when 
California  was  being  settled  it  was  killed  in  such 
numbers  that  in  the  year  1869  it  was  reported  by 
its  only  biographer  as  "nearly,  if  not  quite, 
extinct." 

Naturalists  heard  nothing  of  it  for  many  years, 
and  believed  it  lost  to  science  as  well  as  to  com- 
merce, a  loss  that  they  felt  all  the  more  deeply  as 
little  was  known  of  its  ways  and  appearance,  and 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  museums  were  without 
specimens.  It  had  never  been  photographed,  and 
the  few  drawings  in  existence  were  crude  and  un- 
satisfactory. But  the  race  was  not  quite  extinct, 
and  it  has  lately  been  my  good  fortune  to  discover 
the  only  herd  now  known  to  exist  in  the  Pacific. 

In  1884,  while  making  natural  history  collec- 
tions for  the  National  Museum  in  California,  I 
learned  from  a  seal  hunter  of  the  continued  ex- 
istence of  this  seal  in  Lower  California,  and  at  once 
communicated  the  fact  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  who  asked  me  by  tele- 
graph to  charter  a  schooner  for  a  cruise  among  the 
uninhabited  shores  and  islands  where  it  was  said 
to  linger.  The  search  lasted  three  months,  and 

407 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  result  was  sixteen  skins  and  skeletons  of  the 
rarest  of  North  American  mammals.  The  speci- 
mens were  not  large,  and  we  had  little  opportunity 
of  observing  the  habits  of  the  animal. 

Our  long  voyage  was  not  lacking  in  hard  work 
and  hazard.  There  were  the  regular  watches  on 
deck,  which  I  shared  day  and  night  with  the  small 
crew;  thirsty  hunts  for  wild  goats  on  the  moun- 
tainous desert  islands  to  replenish  our  larder;  and 
trips  to  distant  watering  places,  where  the  casks 
had  to  be  filled  and  laboriously  gotten  on  board. 
In  our  search  we  must  have  landed  a  score  of  times 
on  rocky  islets,  inhabited  by  hundreds  of  sea  lions, 
and  about  which  the  sea  ran  high.  Day  after  day 
we  tugged  at  the  oars,  minutely  examining  leagues 
of  beaches,  while  the  schooner  cruised  offshore. 
We  landed  through  all  degrees  of  surf,  where  the 
boat  was  sometimes  swamped.  One  man  fell  over- 
board at  sea  with  his  rubber  hip-boots  on,  and  the 
boat  reached  him  not  a  second  too  soon.  We  lost 
an  anchor  among  the  rocks,  and  smashed  the  cast- 
iron  windlass  in  the  vain  effort  to  save  it  in  a  surg- 
ing sea. 

Meanwhile  the  sealers  had  resumed  their  de- 
structive work,  and  it  was  a  race  between  us  as  to 
whether  science  or  the  oil  makers  would  get  the 
last  specimen. 

408 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

Then  the  elephant  seal  disappeared  from  view, 
and  was  not  seen  for  eight  years,  when  it  again 
fell  to  my  lot  to  report  its  existence.  In  1892,  I 
was  sent  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  a  chartered 
vessel  to  Guadalupe,  an  uninhabited  island  lying 
140  miles  off  the  coast  of  Lower  California,  to 
identify  the  species  of  fur  seal  reported  to  exist 
there,  the  information  being  desired  for  the  fur 
seal  arbitration  then  being  held  in  Paris.  Quite 
unexpectedly  we  found  eight  more  elephant  seals, 
some  of  which  we  took  for  museum  purposes. 

Specimens  of  the  large  male  seals,  with  proboscis 
fully  developed,  and  information  respecting  their 
habits  were  still  lacking,  and  nineteen  more  years 
passed  away  before  I  got  the  splendid  opportunity 
to  procure  them,  which  I  shall  now  describe. 

In  March,  1911,  while  in  charge  of  the  deep- 
sea  investigations  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Albatross,  I  called 
at  Guadalupe  Island  with  the  faint  hope  that  a  few 
elephant  seals  might  have  escaped  the  oil  hunters 
of  former  years.  The  hope  was  more  than  real- 
ized: when  I  left  the  island  after  two  days'  work, 
we  had  the  skins  of  three  giant  males,  a  full-grown 
female,  two  complete  skeletons,  and  six  live  year- 
lings. Besides,  my  portfolio  was  filled  with  pho- 
tographs, and  my  journal  with  notes  on  the  living 
animals.  We  left  undisturbed  behind  us  a  splendid 

409 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

herd  of  about  150  elephant  seals,  and  an  official  an- 
nouncement has  been  made  that  the  plan  proposed 
by  the  writer  for  its  protection,  through  concerted 
action  by  the  United  States  and  Mexican  authori- 
ties, will  be  carried  out.  The  principal  danger 
which  threatens  is  the  fact  that  its  existence  has 
been  made  known  to  sealers. 

We  reached  Guadalupe  Island  March  2,  and 
immediately  landed  the  members  of  the  scientific 
stall  on  the  east  side  for  a  day's  collecting,  and  pro- 
ceeded at  once  with  the  ship  to  the  northwest  side 
in  the  hope  of  finding  a  few  survivors  of  the  ele- 
phant seal.  After  a  forenoon's  search,  we  located 
a  herd  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  on 
what  was  known  to  sealers  as  Elephant  Beach.  I 
killed  one  large  male  and  one  large  female,  which 
we  skinned  and  took  to  the  ship.  Returning  with 
larger  boats  and  some  nets,  six  yearlings  were 
captured  alive  and  sent  on  board.  March  4,  I 
killed  two  more  of  the  large  males,  the  skinning 
and  skeletonizing  of  which  occupied  us  for  several 
hours.  The  sea  becoming  rough,  we  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  beach  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
embarking  of  our  heavy  specimens  was  difficult  and 
dangerous. 

Elephant  Beach  is  located  under  cliffs  a  thousand 
feet  high,  and  is  flanked  by  others  which  extend 

410 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

into  the  sea,  thus  making  the  top  of  the  island 
altogether  inaccessible  from  this  point.  Its  north- 
ern end  is  well  marked  by  heavy  rock  slides.  The 
beach  is  accessible  from  the  sea  only,  and  is  usually 
further  protected  by  a  heavy  surf.  It  is  not  more 
than  three  or  four  hundred  yards  in  length  by 
thirty  in  width,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  is  sandy, 
the  inner  margin  being  lined  with  talus  from  the 
cliffs. 

The  seals  had  little  fear  of  man,  and  the  few 
animals  which  left  the  beach  after  we  landed  prob- 
ably would  not  have  done  so  had  they  not  been  dis- 
turbed by  sailors  walking  among  them.  While  the 
large  specimens  were  being  skinned  and  skeleton- 
ized, some  of  the  animals  slept  undisturbed  within 
thirty  feet  of  where  the  men  were  working.  I  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  about  fifty  good  photographs, 
showing  the  general  character  of  the  rookery  and 
the  attitudes  of  the  animals.  The  herd  consisted 
chiefly  of  large  males  and  immature  animals  of 
various  sizes.  There  were  probably  not  more  than 
fifteen  adult  females  present,  and  only  six  of  these 
were  accompanied  by  new-born  young.  The  indi- 
cations were,  therefore,  that  other  adult  females 
would  arrive  later. 

The  three  males  which  we  killed  were  the  largest 
in  sight,  and  were  found  to  average  just  sixteen 

411 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

feet  in  length,  with  an  average  girth  of  eleven  feet. 
The  largest  specimen  of  the  Northern  elephant 
seal  previously  recorded  as  actually  measured  was 
"twenty-two  feet  long  from  tip  to  tip,  and  yielded 
210  gallons  of  oil."  The  adult  female  that  we 
killed  was  nearly  eleven  feet  long.  Some  of  the 
females  with  young  pups  appeared  to  be  slightly 
longer,  but  we  could  not  measure  them  and  would 
not  kill  them.  There  were  numerous  immature 
males  about  the  size  of  the  adult  female,  and  many 
animals  of  intermediate  sizes  between  these  and  the 
new-born  pups.  Animals  of  the  yearling  size  were 
distinctly  more  numerous  than  those  of  other  sizes. 
The  new-born  pups,  being  dusky  black,  were  dis- 
tinguishable in  color  from  the  yearlings. 

The  skin  of  the  adult  male  is  exceedingly  heavy, 
being  nearly  an  inch  thick  about  the  forepart  of 
the  neck.  Our  knives  dulled  so  rapidly  in  skinning 
them  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  have  a  grind- 
stone sent  ashore  and  to  keep  two  men  busy  at  the 
task  of  sharpening.  The  carcasses  were  so  heavy 
that  it  required  all  the  strength  of  half  a  dozen 
men  to  turn  them  over,  with  the  aid  of  a  rope  and 
hand-holes  cut  in  the  skin.  In  some  places  we 
found  the  blubber  to  be  about  four  inches  thick. 

Unless  actually  teased  by  members  of  our  party, 
the  old  animals  did  not  attempt  to  leave  the  beach, 

412 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

and  many  of  them,  although  wide  awake,  did  not 
raise  their  heads  from  the  sand  until  closely  ap- 
proached. When  driven  from  a  comfortable  rest- 
ing place,  they  would  soon  settle  down,  and  after 
throwing  sand  on  their  backs  with  their  front 
flippers,  would  become  quiet  again.  Both  old  and 
young  have  this  habit  of  covering  themselves  with 
sand. 

Some  of  the  large  males,  after  being  driven  into 
the  sea,  soon  returned.  While  in  the  water  they 
remained  near  the  surf,  disregarding  the  boats 
which  passed  near  them,  their  heads  usually  held 
well  above  water,  with  the  proboscis  partly  re- 
tracted. When  making  a  landing,  the  large  males 
moved  very  slowly,  with  frequent  pauses,  from 
time  to  time  raising  and  spreading  the  hind  flip- 
pers to  get  the  benefit  of  every  wave  that  might 
help  them  through  the  shallows.  When  finally 
clear  of  the  water  and  dependent  upon  their  own 
efforts  in  getting  their  ponderous  bulk  to  a  dry 
place  well  up  the  sloping  beach,  their  progress 
became  very  slow. 

Most  of  their  attitudes  are  well  shown  in  the 
accompanying  pictures,  but  it  must  be  confessed 
that  we  could  not  have  secured  all  of  our  photo- 
graphs without  first  getting  the  animals  thoroughly 
aroused.  In  some  cases  I  focused  my  camera  on 

413 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

an  elephant  seal  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  feet, 
and  then  had  a  sailor  kick  the  animal  violently  in 
the  ribs.  One  of  them  became  thoroughly  an- 
gered only  after  a  sailor  had  jumped  upon  his  back. 
When  moving  of  its  own  accord,  the  elephant  seal 
arches  the  body  in  a  way  suggestive  of  the  motion 
of  the  inchworm,  drawing  the  hindquarters  well 
forward,  with  the  belly  lifted  from  the  ground,  and 
then  shifting  the  forequarters  with  the  front  flip- 
pers braced  outward. 

The  large  males  which  accompanied  the  nursing 
females  were  frequently  engaged  in  fights  with 
unattached  males.  There  had  evidently  been  con- 
siderable fighting,  as  their  necks  were  more  or  less 
raw,  and  in  some  cases  had  festering  sores.  In 
comparison,  the  necks  of  the  younger  males  were 
smooth  and  without  tooth-marks.  In  fighting,  the 
large  males  crawl  slowly  and  laboriously  within 
striking  distance,  and  then,  rearing  on  the  front 
flippers  and  drawing  the  heavy,  pendent  proboscis 
into  wrinkled  folds  well  up  on  top  of  the  snout, 
strike  at  each  other's  necks  with  their  large  canines. 
The  fighting  was  accompanied  with  more  or  less 
snorting,  but  we  heard  none  of  the  extremely  loud 
bellowing  described  by  writers  as  characteristic  of 
the  antarctic  species  of  elephant  seal. 

The  skin  of  the  under  surface  of  the  neck  and 
414 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

forepart  of  the  breast  is  greatly  thickened.  It  is 
almost  hairless,  and  years  of  fighting  has  given  it 
an  exceedingly  rough  and  calloused  surface.  This 
shield,  as  we  may  call  the  part  of  the  animal  most 
exposed  to  attack  when  fighting,  extends  from  the 
throat  just  below  the  base  of  the  jaws  down  to 
the  level  of  the  flippers,  and  rather  more  than  half- 
way back  on  each  side  of  the  neck  and  breast. 
Although  ugly  wounds  are  inflicted  by  the  large 
canines,  the  heavy  skin  in  no  case  seems  to  be 
broken  through.  While  the  animal  takes  good 
care  of  its  head  and  proboscis,  the  calloused  breast- 
shield  is  freely  exposed  to  the  enemy.  The  fighting 
is  not  of  the  desperate  sort  indulged  in  by  the  fur 
seal,  and  the  contestants  soon  separate.  There 
seems  to  be  no  actual  seizing  and  holding  of  the 
skin,  and  after  each  sharp  blow  the  head  is  quickly 
withdrawn  and  held  aloft. 

When  the  head  of  the  male  is  elevated,  the  skin 
at  the  top  of  the  neck  and  shoulders  is  thrown 
into  a  series  of  eight  or  ten  heavy  folds,  which 
extend  downward  and  forward.  When  the  animal 
is  at  rest,  with  its  head  stretched  forward  on  the 
sand,  these  folds  do  not  show.  The  fore  flippers 
are  large  and  thick,  and  have  heavy  claws,  the 
posterior  three  claws  being  well  separated. 

The  proboscis  of  the  elephant  seal  is  broad  and 
415 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

fleshy  to  the  tip,  where  the  nostrils  are  placed  wide 
apart,  the  nasal  openings  being  directed  somewhat 
downward  and  outward.  The  length  of  the  pro- 
boscis forward  from  the  canines  is  about  equal  to 
the  distance  between  the  canine  and  the  eye,  and 
its  width  is  about  equal  to  the  space  between  the 
eyes.  The  proboscis  is  exceedingly  thick  and 
heavy.  In  one  of  our  specimens,  and  that  not  the 
largest,  it  was  about  nine  inches  long.  When  the 
animal  is  crawling,  the  proboscis  is  relaxed  and 
pendent ;  when  sleeping,  it  rests  upon  the  sand  in  a 
shapeless  mass.  When  annoyed  persistently,  the 
old  male  slowly  raises  his  head,  and  retracting 
the  proboscis,  opens  his  mouth  wide.  He  does  not 
bellow  loudly,  but  there  is  much  blowing  out  of 
the  breath  through  the  nostrils  with  a  gurgling 
sound,  the  whole  proboscis  vibrating  heavily  with 
the  effort.  Sometimes  when  the  head  is  turned  up, 
the  proboscis  relaxes  until  it  hangs  into  the  open 
mouth.  The  animal  may  continue  to  turn  its  head 
over  backward  until  the  half-relaxed  proboscis  ac- 
tually overhangs  to  the  rear.  In  fighting,  it  is 
closely  retracted,  and  is  kept  out  of  harm's  way, 
for  many  of  the  animals  with  badly  damaged  necks 
had  trunks  showing  no  injury  whatever. 

When  the  proboscis  is  fully  retracted,  it  exhibits 
three  bulging  transverse  folds  on  top,  separated  by 

416 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalitpe  Island 

deep  grooves.  There  is  little  indication  of  the 
proboscis  in  the  half-grown  male.  Under  excite- 
ment both  female  and  young  extend  the  nose  into 
a  sharply  pointed  tip. 

Nothing  was  found  in  the  stomach  of  the  ele- 
phant seal  that  would  serve  to  indicate  the  nature 
of  its  food;  in  fact,  we  never  found  anything  but 
a  handful  of  sand.  Our  captive  elephant  seals  re- 
fused to  eat  fresh  fish  during  the  two  days'  voyage 
to  San  Diego,  and  took  no  food  for  more  than  a 
week  after  their  journey  overland.  In  the  New 
York  Aquarium  they  have  subsisted  entirely  on 
fresh  fish  cut  into  moderate-sized  pieces,  but  they 
have  greatly  preferred  fish  that  was  alive.  Live 
crabs  and  bits  of  seaweed  placed  in  the  pool  always 
remained  untouched.  Like  the  fur  seal,  they  doubt- 
less feed  on  live  squid,  but  they  refused  the  dead 
squid  we  took  pains  to  procure  for  them. 

The  yearling  elephant  seal  is  somewhat  heavier 
and  longer  than  the  nursing  pup,  but  it  is  propor- 
tionately slender,  is  brownish-gray  in  color,  and 
has  longer  whiskers.  As  I  have  said,  the  nursing 
pup  is  black,  and  its  length  is  about  four  feet;  it  is 
so  remarkably  fat  as  to  be  virtually  unable  to  move, 
while  the  yearling  is  fairly  active.  None  of  the 
six  yearlings  brought  to  the  New  York  Aquarium 
exceeded  five  feet  in  length,  their  weights  varying 

417 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

from  167  pounds  to  301  pounds,  the  males  being 
heavier  than  the  females. 

The  yearling  frequently  emits  a  sound  not  un- 
like the  scream  of  the  peacock.  On  first  landing, 
we  were  unable  to  account  for  these  singular  noises, 
and  ascribed  them  to  sea-gulls,  but  soon  discovered 
their  true  source.  This  call,  or  scream,  is  most 
frequently  heard  when  the  yearling  is  disturbed  or 
trampled  on  by  larger  animals. 

The  capture  of  the  six  live  yearlings  was  a 
simple  matter.  Some  heavy  pieces  of  netting  were 
thrown  over  the  animals,  into  which  they  were 
tightly  rolled,  so  that  the  sailors  could  handle  them 
without  fear  that  they  would  bite  or  climb  out  of 
the  boats.  On  board  ship  they  were  for  a  time 
given  the  freedom  of  the  decks,  but  later  were  kept 
in  a  pen.  They  showed  no  inclination  to  bite  either 
while  on  the  ship  or  when  they  were  received  at 
the  New  York  Aquarium. 

The  photographs  of  the  young  animals  while  at 
the  Aquarium  show  some  attitudes  which  were  not 
observed  on  the  beach  at  Guadalupe  Island.  While 
the  animal  is  plump  and  rounded  when  at  rest  on 
the  floor  of  the  empty  seal  pool,  it  may  look  slim 
when  stretching  up  its  head  to  the  hand  of  a  visitor. 
The  neck  becomes  remarkably  drawn  out,  and  it 
may  reach  upward  until  the  tips  of  the  flippers  are 

418 


Elephant  Seals  of  Guadalupe  Island 

lifted  from  the  flooring.  The  animals  often  go  to 
sleep  under  water,  stretched  out  on  the  floor  of  the 
pool. 

When  the  Albatross  left  Guadalupe  on  March 
4,  1911,  there  were  not  fewer  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  elephant  seals  at  the  rookery.  As 
the  number  of  adult  females  present  was  consider- 
ably less  than  the  number  of  adult  males,  and  less 
than  half  the  number  of  yearlings,  there  was  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  female  portion  of  the  herd 
would  be  better  represented  before  the  end  of  the 
month.  The  present  size  of  the  herd — summer  of 
1912 — may  therefore  be  estimated  at  one  hundred 
and  fifty  animals  of  all  classes. 

Eleven  days  later,  when  the  Albatross  reached 
San  Cristobal  Bay,  on  the  peninsula,  I  examined 
the  site  of  the  old  rookery  at  that  locality  without 
finding  any  indication  that  it  had  been  occupied. 
We  found  no  signs  of  elephant  seals  at  either  San 
Benito  or  Cedros  Islands,  where  the  ship  called  on 
the  voyage  southward.  I  examined  the  shores  of 
San  Benito  very  thoroughly.  Both  of  these  islands 
were  formerly  breeding  resorts  of  the  species. 

We  may  now  safely  assume  that  the  Northern 
elephant  seal  exists  only  on  Guadalupe  Island,  and 
that  we  have  ascertained  about  how  many  of  its 
race  remain.  We  have  learned  from  examination 

419 


^Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

of  the  skulls  of  mature  animals  that  the  species  is 
unquestionably  distinct  from  its  Southern  relative. 
The  character  of  the  proboscis  of  the  adult  male, 
the  appearance  of  the  new-born  young,  and  other 
facts  in  the  natural  history  of  the  animal,  have 
been  ascertained.  The  completion  of  a  group  of 
elephant  seals  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  in  New  York,  mounted  according  to  pho- 
tographs and  actual  measurements,  will  soon  give 
us  a  graphic  view  of  this  large  and  remarkable 
North  American  animal  that  came  so  near  to  being 
lost  to>  science. 

Charles  Haskins  Townsend. 


420 


GAME  PRESERVATION  COMMITTEE 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Club,  held  in  Jan- 
uary, 1910,  Mr.  J.  Walter  Wood  submitted  a 
resolution,  which  read : 

Resolved,  That  the  President  of  the  Club  appoint  a 
Committee  of  six  to  consider  what  steps  should  be 
taken  to  broaden  the  activities  and  develop  the  useful- 
ness of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  more  especially 
with  reference  to  its  taking  a  still  more  active  part 
in  the  protection  of  game;  the  said  committee  to  re- 
port to  the  Executive  Committee  from  time  to  time, 
and  to  make  a  full  report  with  recommendations  at 
the  next  annual  meeting. 

The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  a  committee 
appointed,  consisting  of  the  following  members: 
J.  Walter  Wood,  Chairman,  George  Bird  Grin- 
nell,  Chas.  H.  Townsend,  Chas.  Sheldon,  W.  Red- 
mond Cross,  and  George  Shiras,  3d. 

This  committee  held  frequent  meetings,  and  at 
the  annual  meeting,  January,  1911,  made  a  report 
with  recommendations.  It  advised  that  to  the 
standing  committees  of  the  club  there  be  added  a 

421 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

Committee  on  Game  Preservation,  to  consist  of 
six  members,  the  Chairman  to  be  annually  ap- 
pointed by  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  term 
of  one  year,  the  other  five  members  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Chairman,  subject  to  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  President  of  the  Club ;  and  that 
the  work  of  this  committee  should  deal  largely 
with  the  question  of  game  refuges. 

The  report  treated  of  game  and  some  fur-bear- 
ing animals,  and  suggested  certain  legislation.  The 
report  was  adopted. 

At  a  meeting  held  February  3,  1911,  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  appointed  a  standing  Commit- 
tee on  Game  Preservation.  This  consisted  of 
George  Bird  Grinnell,  Chairman ;  Chas.  H.  Town- 
send,  Secretary;  J.  Walter  Wood,  Chas.  Sheldon, 
E.  Hubert  Litchfield,  W.  Redmond  Cross,  and 
Amos  R.  E.  Pinchot. 

The  Executive  Committee  on  April  12  passed 
the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  full  power  be  and  hereby  is  given 
to  the  Game  Preservation  Committee  to  act  for  the 
Club  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  preservation  of 
wild  life  on  this  continent,  and  to  take  such  steps  in 
regard  to  these  matters  as  in  the  judgment  of  the 
said  committee  shall  be  most  effective. 

Later  in  the  year,  the  Game  Preservation  Com- 
422 


The  Game  Preservation  Committee 

mittee  recommended,  and  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee passed,  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  President  be,  and  he  hereby  is, 
authorized  and  empowered  to  appoint  a  committee 
with  full  power  to  raise  an  endowment  fund,  and  also 
a  special  fund  from  or  through  the  members  of  the 
Club ;  such  special  fund  and  interest  from  the  endow- 
ment fund  to  be  expended  by  the  Game  Preservation 
Committee  in  the  preservation  of  the  wild  life  of 
America,  and  under  such  restrictions  as  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  may  from  time  to  time  impose. 

This  resolution  was  passed,  and  a  Finance  Com- 
mittee was  appointed,  of  which  Dr.  Lewis  Ruther- 
furd  Morris  was  Chairman.  Some  months  later 
Dr.  Morris  resigned,  and  Henry  G.  Gray,  the 
present  Secretary  of  the  Club,  was  appointed  in 
his  place.  Through  the  energy  of  the  Finance 
Committee  funds  have  been  raised  to  render  effec- 
tive the  work  of  the  Game  Preservation  Com- 
mittee. 

The  Game  Preservation  Committee's  report  for 
the  year  1911  recommended  the  laying  out  of  a 
comprehensive  plan  of  national  game  refuges,  and 
with  this  in  view,  it  worked  with  other  game  pro- 
tective associations,  and  especially  with  the  Biolog- 
ical Survey,  from  which  it  received  a  memorandum 
on  the  preservation  of  North  American  game, 

423 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

which  is  printed  with  its  report.  It  also  announced 
a  declaration  of  the  policy  already  carried  out  by 
the  Club,  and  to  be  continued.  This  is  that  the 
club  should  "concentrate  its  efforts  upon  projects 
directly  and  indirectly  concerned  with  the  preser- 
vation of  big  game,  while  on  questions  concerning 
birds  and  fish  the  name  and  influence  of  the  Club" 
should  be  used  to  further  worthy  movements,  but 
that  steps  to  inaugurate  such  movements  should  be 
left  to  others.  The  report  discussed  some  pending 
Federal  legislation  and  the  game  situation,  in- 
cluding in  this  last  some  fur-bearing  and  almost 
extinct  mammals. 

At  the  very  close  of  the  year,  after  much  cor- 
respondence with  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and 
Colonel — then  Major — Brett,  about  twenty  ante- 
lope were  trapped  in  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  of  which  half  were  sent  to  the  National 
Bison  Range  in  Montana,  and  half  to  the  Wichita 
Game  Preserve.  Through  lack  of  experience  on 
the  part  of  those  who  crated  the  animals,  the  crates 
were  made  too  roomy,  with  the  unfortunate  result 
that  a  number  of  the  antelope  injured  themselves 
in  transit  and  died.  Nevertheless  six  or  seven 
reached  the  Montana  range  in  fair  condition,  and 
eight  the  Wichita  reserve.  In  May,  1913,  there 
were  five  antelope  living  and  in  good  condition  on 

424 


The  Game  Preservation  Committee 

the  Montana  Bison  Range,  and  on  the  Wichita 
reserve,  two — a  male  and  a  female — are  alive  and 
seemingly  doing  well. 

Colonel  Brett  was  kind  enough  to  write  out  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Club  a  detailed  report  of  the 
method  by  which  these  antelope  were  captured. 

The  Game  Preservation  Committee  appointed 
for  the  year  1912  consisted  of  Chas.  Sheldon, 
Chairman ;  Chas.  H.  Townsend,  Secretary ;  J.  Wal- 
ter Wood,  W.  Redmond  Cross,  Edward  Hubert 
Litchfield,  E.  W.  Nelson,  Alexander  Lambert, 
M.D.,  with  Geo.  Bird  Grinnell  and  Dr.  Lewis 
Rutherfurd  Morris  as  advisory  members.  The 
Committee's  report  for  the  year  was  submitted  at 
the  annual  meeting,  January,  1913,  and  accepted 
by  the  Club.  As  usual,  it  dealt  with  the  work  of 
the  year,  with  some  pending  legislation  dealing 
with  migratory  birds,  and  the  fur  seal,  and  with 
the  game  situation.  While  the  reports  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  antelope  are  discouraging — it 
being  concluded  that  the  species,  although  every- 
where protected  in  the  United  States,  is  every- 
where diminishing — the  news  with  relation  to  the 
wild  sheep  is  more  cheering.  Many  more  mountain 
sheep  exist  in  the  United  States  than  is  generally 
known,  though  a  variety  of  conditions  tend  con- 
stantly to  reduce  their  numbers.  Two  or  three 

425 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

new  forms  of  sheep  have  recently  been  described. 

The  most  important  part  of  this  report  is  found 
in  the  general  remarks  on  game  protection,  which 
suggest  certain  novel  ideas,  which  it  seems  de- 
sirable to  print  in  full : 

"A  great  and  increasing  interest  is  being  shown 
throughout  the  country  in  game  protection.  This 
is  evidenced  by  the  considerable  number  of  meas- 
ures on  this  subject  now  before  Congress,  and  in 
the  more  enlightened  character  of  State  legislation 
in  matters  pertaining  to  game. 

"In  view  of  the  interest  and  co-operation  of  the 
Forest  Service  in  connection  with  the  protection  of 
game  in  the  National  forests,  it  would  be  extremely 
helpful  in  this  direction  if  the  forest  rangers  could 
be  made  ex-officio  deputy  State  game  wardens  in 
all  of  the  States.  Certain  States  already  have  laws 
to  this  effect,  and  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
might  help  in  bringing  about  this  legislation  in 
other  States.  A  great  barrier  to  the  proper  pro- 
tection of  game  in  the  States  is  frequently  found 
in  the  difficulty  of  impartial  enforcement  of  the 
law.  This  might  be  helped  forward  considerably 
by  the  forest  rangers.  Their  influence  at  the  same 
time  would  be  strengthened  if  they  were  officially 
a  part  of  the  State  game  protection  service. 

"The  game  protection  movement  in  this  country 
426 


The  Game  Preservation  Committee 

is  in  the  nature  of  a  great  reform  movement.  As 
such  it  contains  extreme  reformers  and  reactionary 
reformers.  The  extremists  at  present  are  tending 
toward  the  discouragement  even  of  reasonable 
sport,  and  their  expressed  views  seem  to  imply  that 
all  effective  game  protection  is  contained  in  the  one 
word — Prohibition. 

"The  Game  Preservation  Committee  does  not 
sympathize  with  either  extreme.  We  believe  that 
reasonable  sport  is  admissible.  We  believe  that 
prohibition  is  only  one  of  the  many  elements  in 
the  problems.  We  would  completely  prohibit 
where  necessary,  or  approve  the  shooting  of  ani- 
mals and  game  birds  where  it  can  be  done  without 
detriment  to  the  breeding  reserve  to  maintain  the 
stock  unimpaired  in  numbers.  We  believe  that  to 
discourage  the  sportsman  will  destroy  the  most 
effective  force  now  working  for  game  protection. 

"But  the  sportsman  must  conduct  his  sport  like 
a  gentleman ;  he  should  be  the  first  to  refrain  from 
shooting  animals  in  places  where  they  are  so  dimin- 
ished in  numbers  that  the  killing  of  them  will  tend 
toward  their  extermination,  or  even  endanger  their 
increase;  he  should  only  secure  trophies  which  he 
himself  kills,  and  should  never  buy  them  except 
for  purposes  of  scientific  study  in  museums. 

"A  field  hitherto  largely  neglected  now  demands 
427 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

the  attention  of  sportsmen.  They  should  make  the 
results  of  sport  available  for  the  study  of  natural 
history.  Hitherto  sportsmen  have  largely  retained 
and  isolated  their  trophies  instead  of  making  them 
available  to  our  museums  for  study.  As  a  result, 
the  museums  to-day  lack  sufficient  specimens  of 
some  of  our  important  large  game  animals  for 
comparative  study.  They  are  totally  lacking  in 
skulls  of  the  eastern  elk,  the  plains  grizzly,  and  the 
sheep  of  the  Black  Hills,  all  of  which  are  now 
extinct.  There  is  in  our  museums  a  scarcity  of 
specimens  of  certain  other  large  animals,  many  of 
which  are  approaching  extinction  without  being 
properly  represented  by  specimens.  Indeed,  study 
series  of  some  really  common  game  animals  are 
still  lacking.  Sportsmen  have  begun  to  interest 
themselves  in  allying  their  sport  with  natural  his- 
tory, and  we  believe  that  the  time  has  come  for 
every  sportsman  to  associate  himself  with  some 
museum  with  a  view  to  contributing  his  quota  to 
the  knowledge  of  our  native  fauna. 

"The  Game  Committee  believes  that  most  of  the 
measures  proposed  for  enactment  in  laws  are  not 
of  a  character  to  afford  a  permanent  solution  for 
the  preservation  of  American  game.  They  lack  the 
needed  elements  of  variability  and  quick  adaptabil- 
ity to  diverse  and  constantly  changing  conditions. 

428 


The  Game  Preservation  Committee 

Advantages  of  proposed  legislation  against  the  use 
of  improved  firearms  will  be  offset  by  increasing 
population,  resulting  in  a  proportionate  increase 
of  hunters.  This  proposed  legislation  would  also 
arouse  active  opposition  by  powerful  interests — a 
most  undesirable  thing  because  the  first  step  toward 
effective  laws  and  the  enforcing  of  them  is  harmony 
among  all  the  interests.  Long  close  seasons  are 
often  necessary,  sometimes  unnecessary,  often  bene- 
ficial, sometimes  harmful.  The  resulting  advan- 
tages are  offset,  as  experience  demonstrates,  by  the 
killing  of  the  increased  'supply  of  game  so  rapidly 
on  the  opening  of  the  season  as  to  restore  the  old 
conditions.  Appeals  to  gunners  for  moderation  in 
killing  have  only  slight  effects,  for  a  proportion  of 
gunners  are  too  thoughtless  to  heed  them. 

"Whatever  kinds  of  firearms  are  used,  natural 
enemies,  increasing  population,  the  gradual  occu- 
pation by  settlers  of  the  game  country,  motor  cars, 
improved  power  boats,  the  extension  of  trolleys,  of 
railroads,  of  good  roads;  in  fact,  all  advancing 
material  interests,  are  inevitable  improvements 
which  tend  to  exterminate  our  game.  What,  then, 
can  be  done  to  offset  these  elements  and  preserve  it? 

"From  the  present  outlook  it  seems  that  the  ante- 
lope should  never  again  be  molested  by  the  sports- 
man. At  present  in  all  places  in  the  United  States 

429 


Hunting  at  High  Altitudes 

mountain  sheep  should  not  be  hunted.  In  the 
future,  in  some  localities,  they  may  increase  to  the 
point  where  a  surplus  may  be  killed.  In  the  United 
States  grizzly  bears,  except  those  which  kill  cattle, 
should  not,  for  the  present,  be  killed.  In  localities 
deer  should  be  more  closely  protected.  The  kill- 
ing of  surplus  elk  outside  the  Yellowstone  Park  is 
a  field  for  sport.  The  same  is  true  in  a  number  of 
places  of  deer,  moose,  caribou  and  mountain  goats. 

"The  Game  Committee  believes  that  the  com- 
mon practice  of  advocating  and  passing  rigid  laws, 
only  changeable  by  legislative  action,  is  wholly  in- 
adequate to  meet  the  situation.  It  can  never  put 
the  matter  on  the  right  basis  of  quick  adaptation 
to  changing  and  varied  conditions.  The  question 
calls  for  serious  study  and  a  new  point  of  view. 

"We  therefore  urge  continued  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  valuable  measures  already  proposed,  namely, 
better  means  of  enforcing  game  laws,  more  effec- 
tive means  for  the  extermination  of  natural  ene- 
mies of  all  kinds  of  game,  and  a  more  effective 
agitation  of  this  aspect  of  the  question,  laws  in  all 
States  for  non-sale  of  game,  game  refuges,  and 
game  propagation. 

uWe  also  urge  careful  consideration  of  the  fol- 
lowing subjects:  Laws  including  permissive  close 
seasons,  variable  bag  limits  and  other  necessary 

430 


The  Game  Preservation  Committee 

restrictions.  But  the  laws  should  accomplish  these 
ends  by  creating  commissions  for  the  preservation 
of  game,  and  investing  them  with  elastic  powers 
and  full  responsibilities.  These  commissions  should 
have  full  authority  to  make  or  unmake,  lengthen 
or  shorten  close  seasons;  to  increase  or  decrease 
bag  limits ;  to  set  aside  and  entirely  prohibit  shoot- 
ing on  areas  of  land  or  water  necessary  for  feed- 
ing grounds  of  wild  fowl,  shore  birds,  game  birds 
or  animals;  to  establish  rest  days  on  which  neither 
game  nor  water  fowl  can  be  disturbed ;  in  fact,  full 
and  complete  powers  to  establish  such  constitu- 
tional regulations  or  restrictions  at  any  time  or  In 
any  section  independently,  as  varying  and  chang- 
ing conditions  may  require  adequately  to  conserve 
the  game. 

"If  this  suggestion  seems  radical,  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  it  is  nothing  more  than  the  application 
within  the  respective  States  of  the  theory  of  game 
preservation  which  is  contained  in  the  bill  for 
Federal  control  of  migratory  birds,  and  in  part  of 
the  present  Alaska  game  law. 

"Whenever  possible,  the  Game  Committee  seeks 
to  restore  big  game  animals  to  areas  where  they 
can  increase  and  afford  sport.  Since  some  of  our 
animals  are  on  the  verge  of  extinction,  they  can 
never  again  serve  that  purpose,  but  must  if  possible 


Memories  of  a  Bear  Hunter 

be  permanently  preserved.  We  desire  to  hand 
down  to  future  generations  opportunities  for  sport 
as  well  as  the  animals  that  we  have  hunted,  but  the 
sport  must  be  consistent  with  the  effective  preser- 
vation of  the  animals. 

"The  Game  Committee  believes  that  any  ex- 
treme prohibitive  policy  will  in  the  end  react 
and  finally  work  against  the  preservation  of  game." 


432 


Brief  History 

of  the 

Boone  and  Crockett  Club 


BRIEF  HISTORY 

OF    THE 

BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB 

In  December,  1887,  Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
then  member  of  the  New  York  Assembly,  at  a 
dinner  at  his  residence  in  New  York  City,  proposed 
the  formation  of  a  club  of  American  hunting  rifle- 
men, to  be  called  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 
The  suggestion  was  warmly  welcomed  by  those 
present,  among  whom  were  E.  P.  Rogers,  Archi- 
bald Rogers,  J.  Coleman  Drayton,  Thomas  Paton, 
Col.  J.  E.  Jones,  Elliott  Roosevelt,  J.  West  Roose- 
velt, Rutherford  Stuyvesant  and  George  Bird 
Grinnell.  A  constitution  was  formulated,  and  in 
January,  1888,  the  Club  was  organized  with  the 
following  officers  and  members : 

President,  Theodore  Roosevelt;  Secretary, 
Archibald  Rogers.  Members:  Albert  Bierstadt, 
Heber  R.  Bishop,  Benjamin  F.  Bristow,  J.  Cole- 

435 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 

man  Drayton,  D.  G.  Elliott,  George  Bird  Grinnell, 
Arnold  Hague,  James  E.  Jones,  Clarence  King, 
Wm.  H.  Merrill,  Jr.,  Thomas  Paton,  John  J. 
Pierrepont,  W.  Hallett  Phillips,  E.  P.  Rogers, 
Elliott  Roosevelt,  J.  E.  Roosevelt,  J.  W.  Roose- 
velt, Rutherford  Stuyvesant,  W.  A.  Wads  worth, 
Bronson  Rumsey,  Lawrence  Rumsey  and  W.  D. 
Pickett. 

As  time  went  on,  these  men  added  to  their 
numbers  others  interested  in  the  same  objects,  so 
that  now,  for  many  years,  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club  has  had  one  hundred  regular  members — its 
limit — and  from  twenty-five  to  forty  associate 
members.  Among  the  latter  are  a  number  of  men 
who  have  performed  notable  services  in  behalf  of 
the  objects  to  which  the  Club  is  devoted. 
These  objects  were  announced  as  being: 
(i)  To  promote  manly  sport  with  the  rifle. 
(2)  To  promote  travel  and  exploration  in  the 
wild  and  unknown,  or  but  partially  known,  portions 
of  the  country.  (3)  To  work  for  the  preservation 
of  the  large  game  of  this  country,  and  so  far  as 
possible  to  further  legislation  for  that  purpose, 
and  to  assist  in  enforcing  the  existing  laws. 
(4)  To  promote  inquiry  into  and  to  record  obser- 
vations on  the  habits  and  natural  history  of  the 
various  wild  animals.  ( 5 )  To  bring  about  among 

436 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 

the  members  interchange  of  opinion  and  ideas  on 
hunting,  travel  and  exploration;  on  the  various 
kinds  of  hunting  rifles;  on  the  haunts  of  game 
animals,  etc. 

Such  were  the  purposes  of  the  Club  when  it  was 
formed,  and  for  a  number  of  years  each  received 
its  fair  share  of  attention.  Gradually,  however, 
the  settlement  of  the  country  and  the  sweep  of 
population  to  the  westward  made  it  more  and  more 
difficult  to  carry  out  the  two  first-named,  while 
the  same  causes  magnified  the  importance  of  the 
third  and  fourth  of  these  objects.  Great  changes 
have  taken  place  in  portions  of  the  United  States, 
where  at  the  date  of  the  formation  of  the  Club 
wild  game  was  found  in  abundance,  and  over  much 
of  the  western  country  the  advancing  tide  of 
settlement  has  swept  out  of  existence  all  the  game. 
The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  organized  as  an 
association  of  hunting  riflemen,  to  promote  manly 
sport  with  the  rifle,  and  to  investigate  the  wild  and 
unknown  portions  of  the  country,  can  no  longer 
do  either  of  these  things  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States.  Little  hunting  trips  may  be  made, 
and  occasionally  a  head  or  two  of  game  killed,  but 
the  old  wild  frontier  of  the  limitless  prairie  and 
of  the  steep  and  rugged  unknown  mountains  is 
gone  forever. 

437 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

In  the  years  that  have  elapsed  since  its  organiza- 
tion, the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  has  accom- 
plished a  number  of  things  which  entitle  it  to  the 
lasting  gratitude  of  the  American  people.  Through 
the  efforts  of  its  members  have  been  carried  on  a 
number  of  successful  battles  for  good  things,  whose 
importance  the  Club  saw  far  in  advance  of  the 
public  opinion  of  the  time,  and  which  in  recent 
years  has  come  to  b^  generally  appreciated, 
although  not  as  yet  wholly  understood. 

Among  the  achievements  which  may  fairly  be 
claimed  for  the  club  are  these : 

(1)  The  carrying  on  to  a  successful  end  the 
fight   for   the   preservation    of   the   Yellowstone 
National  Park.     This  fight  commenced  in  1882, 
long  before  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  was 
organized,  yet  the  men  who  began  the  fight  and 
for  many  years  carried  it  on  alone,  were  among, 
the  first  members  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club, 
and  the  Club  at  once  took  up  and  carried  through 
to  its  end  the  work  that  they  had  started.   Among 
these   men    were    Arnold    Hague,    Wm.  Hallett 
Phillips,  Archibald  Rogers,  George  G.  Vest  and 
George  Bird  Grinnell. 

(2)  The  forest  reserve  system  now  in  success- 
ful operation  in  the  United  States  and  covering 
lands  aggregating  one  hundred  millions  of  acres, 

438 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

is  due  in  large  measure  to  the  efforts  of  the  Boone 
and  Crockett  Club.  The  late  Wm.  Hallett  Phillips 
deserves  much  credit  for  aiding  in  the  passage  of 
the  Act  of  March  3,  1891,  a  section  of  which 
authorized  the  President,  in  his  discretion,  to  set 
aside  public  lands  for  forest  reserves,  while 
Gen.  John  W.  Noble,  a  member  of  the  Club,  then 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  established  the  first  re- 
serves under  proclamation  of  President  Harrison. 

(3)  In    1894  the  Boone   and   Crockett  Club 
founded   and   took   control    of   the   New   York 
Zoological  Society.    Credit  for  this  belongs  chiefly 
to  Madison  Grant,  C.  Grant  La  Farge  and  some 
others. 

(4)  In  the  year  1897  the  club  succeeded  in 
having  a  bill  passed  by  the  New  York  Legislature 
which  forbade  the  hunting  of  deer  with  dogs  in 
the  Adirondacks  and  the  killing  of  deer  in  the 
water.     This  ended  a  crusade  which  had  been 
going  on  for  fifteen  years  or  more. 

(5)  In  1902  the  Club  secured  the  passage  of  a 
bill  to  protect  Alaska  game — the  first  law  enacted 
for  this  purpose.     This  bill  was  drafted  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Club,  Madison  Grant  and  Hon.  John 
F.  Lacey;  and  the  latter,  with  the  help  of  such 
public  interest  as  was  aroused  by  the  Club,  suc- 
ceeded in  pushing  the  bill  through  Congress. 

439 


\The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

(6)  The  idea  of  game  refuges — sanctuaries 
within  which  neither  birds  nor  mammals  should  be 
pursued  or  injured — originated  with  the  Club,  and 
was  first  brought  up  at  a  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  held  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Lewis 
Rutherford  Morris,  While  this  idea  was  more 
quickly  taken  up  by  the  general  public  than  most 
game  protective  suggestions,  and  while  it  has  been 
adopted  by  a  number  of  States,  it  has  not  yet  been 
practicable  to  secure  from  Congress  legislation 
looking  to  the  establishment  of  such  reservations 
on  Federal  lands,  except  in  the  case  of  the  National 
parks,  two  buffalo  reservations  and  some  bird 
islands.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  States — as 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Minnesota  and  some 
others — have  been  quick  to  grasp  the  suggestion 
and  have  established  such  refuges.  One  of  those 
in  Massachusetts  may  perhaps  save  from  extinc- 
tion the  heath  hen,  the  eastern  form  of  the 
pinnated  grouse,  which  but  a  few  years  since 
promised  soon  to  be  numbered  with  America's 
extinct  birds. 

Suggestions  pointing  to  the  establishment  of 
game  refuges  had  been  made  earlier,  but  not  in 
such  definite  and  concrete  shape  as  to  be  compre- 
hended by  the  public.  In  1876,  in  a  periodical 
known  as  the  Penn  Monthly,  Dr.  J.  A.  Allen,  a 

440 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

member  of  the  club,  made  what  is  perhaps  the  first 
hint  of  the  game  refuge  idea  in  the  United  States, 
when  he  suggested  that,  on  the  Western  plains, 
tracts  might  be  set  aside  within  which  it  should  be 
unlawful  to  pursue  or  injure  the  buffalo*. 

(7)  The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  originated 
and  caused  to  be  introduced  in  Congress  and  to  re- 
ceive favorable  action  by  both  Houses,  the  bill  es- 
tablishing the  Glacier  National  Park.  The  setting 
aside  of  this  territory,  extraordinary  for  natural 
beauty,  as  well  as  for  its  availability  for  a  fish  and 
game  preserve,  is  a  great  achievement.  The 
region  includes  an  area  of  about  fourteen  hundred 
square  miles  of  rough  mountains,  many  of  which 
are  permanently  snow-capped  and  carry  glaciers 
near  their  summits.  The  deep  lakes  which  lie  in  the 
valleys  among  these  mountains  are  full  of  fish,  and 
during  the  season  of  migration  are  dark  with  wild- 
fowl. Moose,  elk,  mountain  sheep,  grizzly  and 
black  bears,  and  white-tailed  and  mule  deer  have 
been  found  in  this  region  up  to  within  a  few  years, 
and  in  ancient  times  it  was  a  favorite  feeding 
ground  for  the  mountain  bison. 

( 8  )  Great  parks  and  immense  reservations  have 
recently  been  set  aside  in  Canada,  and  a  number 
of  these  parks  have  been  stocked  with  native  game. 
The  largest  herd  of  buffalo  in  existence  was 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

purchased  from  M.  Pablo  in  Montana  and  trans- 
ported to  Canada  to  be  set  free  in  a  park  near 
Edmonton.  All  this  recent  work  has  been  done  at 
the  instance  of  a  member  of  the  Club,  the  Hon. 
Frank  Oliver,  Minister  of  the  Interior  for  the 
Dominion  of  Canada. 


THE  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK. 

In  the  year  1869  a  hunting  party  from  Helena, 
Montana  Territory,  stumbled  into  the  region  of 
hot  springs  and  geysers,  now  the  Yellowstone 
Park.  The  stories  which  they  brought  back  were 
scarcely  credited,  and  in  1870  the  Washburn  party 
set  out  for  the  locality  and  at  length  returned  with 
authentic  accounts  of  many  of  its  wonders.  These 
were  thoroughly  exploited  with  pen  and  voice  by 
N.  P.  Langford.  In  the  summer  of  1871  parties 
under  Capt.  J.  W.  Barlow,  U.  S.  Engineers,  and 
Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  made 
explorations  of  the  region.  Mr.  Langford's  writ- 
ings and  lectures  had  already  aroused  much  public 
interest,  and  Congress  was  ready  to  yield  to  the 
influence  of  Dr.  Hayden  and  to  pass  (March  i, 
1872)  the  Organic  Act  by  which  this  area  was  set 

442 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

aside  and  designated  "as  a  public  park  or  pleasure 
ground  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the 
people. "  The  Park  was  to  be  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  was 
authorized  to  make  regulations  for  the  preserva- 
tion from  injury  of  all  timber,  mineral  deposits, 
natural  curiosities  or  wonders  within  the  Park. 
This  was  essentially  the  language  of  the  statute, 
but  no  methods  were  indicated  by  which  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  should  carry  out  the  law. 

At  the  time  Dr.  Hayden  drew  the  Park  bill,  the 
country  had  not  been  surveyed,  and  no  one  knew 
just  where  the  territorial  lines  were  to  run,  or, 
indeed,  where  the  Park  lay.  Dr.  Hayden  chose 
for  his  initial  points  the  natural  features  of  the 
landscape,  and  made  his  lines  meridians  and  par- 
allels of  latitude.  His  selections  were  marvelously 
fortunate.  As  Col.  George  S.  Anderson  has  said, 
"They  seemed  almost  a  work  of  inspiration.  The 
north  line  takes  in  the  large  slopes  on  the  north 
of  Mt.  Everts  and  the  valley  of  the  East  Fork  of 
the  Yellowstone,  where  the  elk,  deer,  antelope  and 
mountain  sheep  wander  by  thousands;  it  leaves 
outside  every  foot  of  land  adapted  to  agriculture; 
also — and  this  is  more  important  than  all — it 
passes  over  the  rugged  and  inaccessible  summit  of 
the  snowy  range,  where  the  hardiest  vandal  dare 

443 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

not  put  his  shack."  As  with  the  lines  on  the  north, 
so  with  those  on  the  east,  on  the  south  and  the 
west;  they  are  protected  by  mountain  heights  and 
they  exclude  all  land  of  value  for  agricultural 
purposes,  or  even  for  grazing. 

The  first  Superintendent  of  the  Park  was  N.  P. 
Langford,  appointed  May  10,  1872,  to  serve  with- 
out salary.  He  never  drew  any  salary,  never  lived 
in  the  Park,  and  protected  it  only  by  reports  and 
recommendations.  No  one  could  have  been  more 
enthusiastic  than  he,  nor  more  earnest  in  his  wish 
to  see  the  Park  protected,  but  the  reservation  was 
a  new  thing,  and  neither  he  nor  anyone  else  knew 
what  it  needed,  nor  was  the  public  well  enough 
acquainted  with  it  to  feel  any  special  interest  in  it. 

In  the  spring  of  1876,  P.  W.  Norris  was 
appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Langford.  Something 
more  than  a  year  later  an  appropriation  was  had 
for  the  Park,  and  a  small  force  of  employees  was 
engaged,  some  of  whom  did  good  work  in  trying  to 
protect  the  forests  from  fires.  Norris  was  a  de- 
stroyer of  natural  wonders,  collecting  great  quan- 
tities of  beautiful  specimens,  which  he  shipped  out 
of  the  Park.  He  professed  to  desire  the  protection 
of  game,  but  not  the  abolition  of  hunting.  Norris 
was  followed  by  P.  H.  Conger,  in  1882,  who  made 
the  usual  recommendations  that  various  things  be 

444 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

protected.  In  August,  1884,  he  was  succeeded  by 
R.  E.  Carpenter,  who  was  removed  in  May,  1885. 
David  W.  Wear  was  the  next  and  last  civilian 
Superintendent. 

Meantime,  in  the  year  1882,  soon  after  the 
completion  to  the  Park  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad,  the  region  and  its  wonders  became  acces- 
sible to  the  public.  Among  those  who  visited  it 
were  a  number  of  men  controlling  some  capital  and 
more  or  less  familiar  with  large  affairs.  They  saw 
the  possibilities  of  the  Park  as  a  pleasure  resort, 
and  at  once  set  to  work  to  gain  such  control  of  it 
as  they  could,  and  to  secure  a  monopoly  of  any- 
thing that  might  fall  in  their  way.  They  succeeded 
in  securing  from  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  a  provisional  lease,  said  to  have  been  for 
ten  plots  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  each  at  a 
different  point  of  interest.  These  plots  were  to  be 
so  located  as  to  cover  the  various  natural  wonders 
of  the  Park,  where  this  was  practicable.  The 
syndicate,  as  it  was  called — the  Yellowstone  Park 
Improvement  Company — started  a  saw-mill  and 
began  to  cut  and  saw  timber  in  the  Park  for  the 
construction  of  their  various  hotels  and  other 
buildings.  As  laborers  in  large  numbers  were  to 
be  employed  through  the  winter,  the  company 
tried  to  give  out  a  contract  for  twenty  thousand 

445 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

pounds  of  wild  meat  at  five  cents  a  pound,  for  the 
boarding  houses  for  their  laborers  and  mechanics. 

In  the  year  1883,  the  company  put  up  tents  for 
the  use  of  guests,  and  later  put  up  light  frame 
buildings.  About  this  time  Gen.  Sheridan  came 
through  from  the  south  with  President  Arthur.  It 
was  this  same  year  that  Mr.  Arnold  Hague  came 
into  the  Park  to  take  charge  of  the  Geological 
Survey  work  there. 

The  effort  to  secure  leases  which  in  practice 
would  give  the  Yellowstone  Park  Improvement 
Company  a  monopoly  of  the  Park,  the  high- 
handed way  in  which  they  seized  and  used  the 
timber,  and  their  efforts  to  give  out  a  contract  for 
wild  meat,  aroused  a  storm  of  indignation  among 
the  people,  who  best  knew  what  such  acts  must 
mean  for  the  public.  In  the  autumn  of  1882  the 
Forest  and  Stream  attacked  the  proposed  monopoly 
and  began  a  fight  which  was  kept  up  for  a  dozen 
years.  Senator  Geo.  G.  Vest  sprang  to  the  defense 
of  the  Park  in  Congress,  and  Messrs.  Hague, 
Phillips  and  Rogers  rendered  invaluable  aid.  A 
campaign  of  education  was  carried  on  which  had 
a  great  effect  on  the  country,  and  thousands  of 
petitions,  signed  by  tens  of  thousands  of  people 
interested  in  natural  things,  came  into  Congress 
and  strengthened  the  hands  of  Senator  Vest. 

446 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

The  work  of  protecting  the  Park  was  difficult, 
for  there  was  no  law  governing  it.  As  already 
said,  the  organic  law  authorized  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  to  make  regulations  for  its  govern- 
ment and  protection,  but  prescribed  no  methods 
for  the  enforcement  of  such  regulations  as  he  might 
lay  down.  The  regulations  were  practically  a  dead 
letter.  The  people  cut  down  the  forests,  killed 
the  game  or  chopped  out  wagon  loads  of  the  beau- 
tiful geyser  formations,  which  they  hauled  away 
for  a  few  miles  and  then  dumped  on  the  prairie. 
Violators  of  the  regulations  could  not  be  punished. 
If  this  was  true  of  the  casual  citizen,  it  was  much 
more  so  of  a  corporation  with  a  large  force  of 
men,  which  in  a  high-handed  way  was  seizing  and 
converting  to  its  own  use  timber,  game  and  other 
valuable  things  within  the  Park. 

The  dangers  which  threatened  were  very  real, 
and  continued  for  a  dozen  years.  About  1883 
efforts  began  to  be  made  to  secure  from  Congress 
legislation  which  should  afford  protection  to  life 
and  property  within  the  reservation,  and  should 
prevent  the  destruction  of  the  forests,  natural 
wonders  and  game  within  its  borders.  In  season 
and  out  of  season,  Senator  Geo.  G.  Vest,  later  a 
member  of  the  club,  urged  this  matter  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  was  ably  supported  by 

447 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

many  other  members.  From  1883  tQ  the  end  of 
the  year  1890  bills  to  remedy  these  dangerous  con- 
ditions passed  the  Senate  at  four  sessions  of  Con- 
gress— twice  by  a  unanimous  vote — but  there  was 
a  strong  effort  on  the  part  of  a  lobby  in  the  House 
to  use  the  National  Park  for  private  purposes,  and 
this  lobby  always  succeeded  in  having  attached  to 
the  Senate  bill  a  rider  granting  a  right  of  way  to1  a 
railroad  through  the  Park.  Members  of  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  Club  fought  this  amendment 
from  the  beginning.  They  felt  that  a  railroad  in 
the  Park  would  be  a  grave  danger  to  the  National 
pleasure  ground,  and  if  one  railway  was  permitted 
to  run  its  lines  there,  the  same  privilege  might  not 
be  denied  to  others,  t  and  before  long  the  reserva- 
tion would  be  gridironed  by  tracks. 

As  we  all  know,  the  efforts  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park  Improvement  Company  to  secure  a  monopoly 
of  the  Park,  and  of  the  lobby  to  secure  the  right 
of  way  for  a  railroad,  were  eventually  blocked,  but 
much  energy  and  hard  work  and  a  great  amount 
of  ink  was  expended  before  this  was  accomplished. 

By  the  Act  of  March  3,  1883,  the  Secretary  of 
;War  was  authorized — on  request  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior — to  detail  a  force  of  troops 
for  duty  in  the  Park,  the  commander  of  the  troops 
to  be  the  acting  Superintendent.  The  first  officer 

448 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

detailed  under  the  new  appointment  was  Captain 
Moses  Harris,  First  Cavalry,  a  member  of  the 
Club,  who  took  charge  August  20,  1886,  and 
from  this  time  forth  things  in  the  Park  began 
to  wear  a  different  aspect.  Captain  Harris  had 
a  troop  of  cavalry,  which  he  used  with  energy 
and  discretion,  and  his  efficiency  was  evidenced  by 
the  amount  of  confiscated  property  which  he  ac- 
cumulated. He  made  splendid  efforts  to  prevent 
fires,  to  protect  game  and  to  put  an  end  to  the 
defacement  of  geysers.  He  early  called  attention 
to  the  immense  herds  of  elk  which  occupied  the 
road  between  Gardiner  and  Cooke  City,  and  in  his 
reports  pointed  out  the  difficulty  of  protecting  this 
game  from  the  public  which  traveled  to  and  from 
the  mining  settlement  of  Cooke  City.  Captain 
Harris  remained  in  the  Park  for  nearly  three 
years,  and  left  it,  having  initiated  and  put  in  force 
most  of  the  protective  measures  that  have  since 
been  used. 

In  1889  an  additional  troop  of  cavalry  was 
detailed  for  duty  during  the  summer,  and  stationed 
in  the  Lower  Geyser  Basin.  Capt.  F.  N.  Boutelle 
became  the  Superintendent.  He  was  an  ardent 
sportsman  and  game  protector,  and  especially  in- 
terested in  the  stocking  of  barren  waters  of  the 
Park  with  game  fish.  This  he  caused  to  be  done. 

449 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

In  February,  1891,  Captain  Geo.  S.  Anderson, 
a  member  of  the  Club,  came  to  the  Park  and  re- 
lieved Captain  Boutelle.  Captain  Anderson,  while 
wholly  new  to  the  work,  was  a  most  able  officer, 
and  in  Ed.  Wilson,  one  of  the  scouts  in  the  Park, 
he  found  a  single,  able  assistant.  This  man  was 
devoted  to  his  work  and  succeeded  in  arresting 
a  number  of  violators  of  the  rules;  but  in  the 
summer  of  1891  he  disappeared,  and  his  place 
was  taken  by  Felix  Burgess. 

Captain  Anderson's  treatment  of  the  Park  was 
most  judicious.  Where  another  officer  might  have 
roughly  expelled  a  man  from  the  Park  for  writing 
his  name  or  scratching  his  initials  on  the  beautiful 
geyser  formation,  Captain  Anderson  had  the  man 
brought  back  to  the  place,  and  supplied  with  soap 
and  scrubbing  brush  or  some  tool,  and  obliged  him 
to  erase  the  writing.  His  ingenious  punishments 
greatly  impressed  the  visiting  public,  and  a  whole* 
some  respect  for  law  began  to<  be  felt. 

At  this  time  the  Park  held  a  considerable  herd 
of  wild  buffalo.  The  heads  and  hides  of  buffalo 
had  now  become  so  scarce  that  they  were  very 
valuable,  and  in  the  minds  of  taxidermists  and 
hunters  seemed  beyond  price.  For  some  time  the 
killing  of  buffalo  near  and  in  the  Yellowstone  Park 
went  on  without  being  suspected;  but  in  1894  the 

450 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

scout  Burgess  detected  a  hunter  in  the  act  of 
butchering  a  number  that  he  had  just  killed  in  the 
Astringent  and  Pelican  Creek  districts.  The 
poacher,  Howell,  was  engaged  in  skinning  a  cow 
and  was  surrounded  by  the  bodies  of  seven  freshly 
killed  buffalo,  of  which  six  were  cows  and  one  a 
yearling  calf.  Howell  was  arrested,  held  for  some 
time  in  confinement  and  then  set  free,  with  orders 
to  leave  the  Park  and  not  return.  There  was  still 
no  law  under  which  he  could  be  punished. 

This  crime  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  best 
things  that  ever  happened  for  the  Park.  It  was 
thoroughly  exploited  in  Forest  and  Stream,  and 
afterward  in  other  periodicals,  and  created  an 
interest  throughout  the  country,  which  brought 
about  the  passage  of  the  Park  Protection  Act, 
signed  by  President  Cleveland,  May  7,  1894. 
This  was  the  ultimate  reward  of  a  number  of  men 
who,  for  a  do'zen  years,  had  been  working  for  the 
protection  and  betterment  of  the  Yellowstone  Park. 
It  may  fairly  be  said  that  since  then  that  great 
reservation  has  never  been  exposed  to  any  special 
dangers. 

The  Yellowstone  Park  had  been  set  aside  under 
peculiar  conditions.  The  public — represented  by 
those  who  urged  the  establishment  of  the  Park — 
asked  only  that  the  territory  might  be  withdrawn 

4Si 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

from  settlement,  and  was  satisfied  with  that.  But 
the  people  at  large  did  not  look  forward  to  the 
existence  of  the  reservation  without  government 
for  a  period  of  twenty-two  years,  nor  did  they 
realize  the  changed  conditions  which  would  prevail 
so  soon  as  railroads  reached  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Park.  So  long  as  the  Park  was  isolated  and 
to  be  reached  only  after  five  hundred  miles  of 
horseback  or  stage  ride,  the  region  might  get  along 
very  well  without  law,  but  as  soon  as  the  Northern 
Pacific  R.  R.  brought  to  it  a  large  public,  that 
public  required  to  be  governed. 

The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  after  its  organiza- 
tion, acting  through  the  personality  of  Geo'.  G. 
Vest,  Arnold  Hague,  Wm.  Hallett  Phillips,  W.  A. 
Wadsworth,  Archibald  Rogers,  Theodore  Roose- 
velt and  George  Bird  Grinnell,  was  finally  success- 
ful in  carrying  through  the  law  of  May  7,  1894, 
and  so  saved  the  Park. 

Much  more  might  be  written  about  the  history 
of  the  Park.  Further  details  will  be  found  in 
Colonel  Anderson's  paper  on  the  Protection  of  the 
Yellowstone  National  Park  in  "Hunting  in  Many 
Lands,"  the  second  volume  of  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club's  books,  and  in  the  files  of  Forest 
and  Stream — which  was  the  natural  mouthpiece  of 
the  club — from  1882  to  1894. 

452 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

At  later  dates,  administrative  services  of  great 
value  were  performed  for  the  Park  by  members 
of  the  Club— Col.  John  Pitcher  and  Gen.  S.  M.  B. 
Young — who  at  different  times  held  the  office  of 
acting  Superintendent.  Both  did  much  to  preserve 
the  game  and  to  make  travel  through  the  Park 
easy  for  the  public.  Colonel  Pitcher  originated  the 
plan  of  growing  hay  for  the  antelope,  and  repeat- 
edly urged  the  enlargement  of  this  method  of  game 
preservation,  which,  however,  never  received 
approval  from  Washington. 


II. 

THE  FIRST  FOREST  RESERVES. 

The  attempt  to  exploit  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park  for  private  gain,  in  a  way  led  up  to  the 
United  States  forest  reservation  system  as  it  stands 
to-day. 

From  the  year  1882  to  1890  a  few  members  of 
the  Club  gave  much  attention  to  the  Park.  To 
them  its  preservation  and  protection  seemed  a  most 
important  public  matter.  These  men  were  Arnold 
Hague,  Wm.  Hallett  Phillips,  G.  G.  Vest,  Archi- 
bald Rogers,  Grinnell,  and  later,  Roosevelt.  All 

453 


\The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

were  familiar  with  the  Park — one  of  them  had 
been  there  as  early  as  1875 — and  had  seen  the 
changes  which  had  taken  place  and  the  progressive 
destruction  which  followed  the  growing  number  of 
visitors.  All  knew  how  the  timber  had  been  cut 
off  and  the  game  killed  by  the  so-called  syndicate, 
which  in  1882  attempted  to  secure  a  monopoly  of 
the  Park  and  all  the  concessions  connected  with  it. 

They  had  seen  fires,  started  by  careless  campers, 
sweep  over  mountainside  and  valley,  and  had 
passed  through  mile  after  mile  of  burned  forest, 
where  charred  tree  trunks  blackened  the  packs 
which  brushed  against  them,  and  pine  logs  glowed 
and  crumbled  to  ashes  along  the  trail,  and  the 
forest  floor  on  either  side  sent  up  clouds  of  acrid 
smoke  from  subterranean  fires  that  ate  their  way 
among  the  dead  and  decayed  vegetatation.  Thus 
they  all  knew  what  forest  fires  sweeping  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains  might  mean  for  the  region 
devastated.  To  protect  the  Park,  its  forests  and 
its  game,  seemed  to  them  a  vital  matter.  This  was 
what  they  had  set  out  to  do>;  but  as  they  saw  more 
and  more  the  dangers  to  which  these  forests  were  ex- 
posed, so  the  forests  and  the  game  of  other  regions 
became,  in  their  view,  more  and  more  important. 

The  most  pressing  dangers  to  the  Park  passed; 
the  Senate,  with  George  Graham  Vest  as  a  watch- 

454 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

ful  guardian,  could  be  trusted  to  prevent  bad 
legislation.  Then,  as  a  natural  sequence  to  the 
work  that  they  had  been  doing,  came  the  impulse 
to  attempt  to  preserve  western  forests  generally. 

Meantime,  another  group  of  men  was  working 
on  forestry  matters.  These  were  E.  A.  Bowers, 
B.  E.  Fernow  and  F.  H.  Newell — members  of  the 
American  Forestry  Association's  Executive  Com- 
mittee— and  they  were  active  in  the  Interior 
Department  and  in  Congress.  Mr.  Bowers  was 
Secretary  of  the  American  Forestry  Association  in 
1889-1891,  and  was  appointed  in  1893  Assistant 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office;  Fernow 
was  Chief  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  of  the 
Agricultural  Department,  and  Newell  was  con- 
nected with  the  Geological  Survey.  Fernow  was 
an  educated  forester  and  the  father  of  many  bills 
to  conserve  the  forests  of  the  public  domain; 
Bowers  and  Newell  were  familiar  with  the  West 
and  with  the  dangers  that  threatened  the  forest 
there.  Devoted  to  this  work,  they  drafted  a  num- 
ber of  bills,  which  they  submitted  to  Congress, 
frequently  appearing  before  committees,  urging 
that  action  should  be  taken  to  protect  the  forests. 

In  1887  William  Hallett  Phillips,  a  member  of 
the  Club,  had  succeeded  in  interesting  Mr.  Lamar, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  a  number  of  Con- 

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The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

gressmen,  in  the  forests,  and  gradually  all  these 
persons  began  to  work  together.  At  the  close  of 
the  first  Cleveland  Administration,  while  no 
legislation  had  been  secured  looking  toward  forest 
protection,  a  number  of  men  in  Washington  had 
come  to  feel  an  interest  in  the  subject.  Some  of 
the  bills  introduced  in  Congress  passed  one  House 
and  some  the  other,  and  finally  one,  the  McCrea 
bill,  so-called,  passed  both  Houses,  but  did  not 
reach  the  Conference  Committee.  Finally  on 
March  3,  1891,  was  passed  the  bill  on  which  our 
national  forest  system  is  based,  entitled  uAn  Act 
to  Repeal  Timber  Culture  Laws  and  for  other 
Purposes."  The  meat  of  the  bill,  so  far  as  forestry 
matters  are  concerned,  is  found  in  its  Section  24, 
which  seems  to  have  originally  been  introduced  in 
the  Senate  by  the  late  Cushman  K.  Davis,  of  Min- 
nesota, as  a  bill  of  a  single  section.  It  reads: 
"That  the  President  of  the  United  States  may, 
from  time  to  time,  set  apart  and  reserve  in  any 
State  or  Territory  having  public  lands  bearing 
forests,  any  part  of  the  public  lands,  wholly  or  in 
part  covered  with  timber  or  undergrowth,  whether 
of  commercial  value  or  not,  as  public  reservations, 
and  the  President  shall,  by  public  proclamation, 
declare  the  establishment  of  such  reservations  and 
the  limits  thereof." 

456 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

The  Act  of  March  3,  1891,  was  the  result  of  a 
compromise.  It  had  come  over  from  the  House 
to  the  Senate  as  a  bill  of  a  single  section  to  repeal 
the  Timber  Culture  law.  Senator  Pettigrew,  then 
a  member  of  the  Public  Lands  Committee,  states 
that  the  bill  was  amended  in  the  Senate  Committee 
by  the  addition  of  twenty-three  other  sections,  of 
which  the  one  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
forest  reserves,  was  the  last. 

Gen.  John  W.  Noble  was  then  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  a  man  of  the  loftiest  and  broadest  views 
and  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  efforts  to  protect 
the  forests.  He  induced  President  Harrison  to 
sign  the  bill,  and  later,  to  set  aside  the  first  United 
State  forest  reserves,  the  earliest  one  being  the 
Yellowstone  Park  Timber  Reserve  to  the  east  and 
south  of  the  Yellowstone  Park.  This  was  designed 
to  further  protect  the  Yellowstone  Park,  and  Mr. 
Noble  in  determining  the  boundaries  of  this  new 
reservation  consulted  Mr.  Hague,  whose  knowl- 
edge of  the  matter  was  greater  than  that  of  any 
other  man.  When  the  Presidential  proclamation 
establishing  the  reservation  appeared,  the  boun- 
daries were  defined  in  the  language  used  in  Mr* 
Hague's  recommendation  to  Mr.  Noble. 

The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  was  quick  to 
acknowledge  Secretary  Noble's  first  acts  under  the 

457 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

new  law,  for  at  a  meeting  of  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club,  held  April  8,  1891,  it  was,  on 
motion  of  W.  H.  Phillips,  seconded  by  Arnold 
Hague, 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  most  heartily  thank  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Honorable 
John  W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  for  having 
set  apart,  as  a  forest  reserve,  the  large  tract  situated 
in  Wyoming,  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Yellowstone 
and  Snake  Rivers,  and  for  having  set  apart  the 
Sequoia  Park,  for  the  preservation  of  the  great  trees 
of  the  Pacific  Slope. 

That  this  Society  recognizes  in  these  actions  the 
most  important  steps  taken  of  recent  years  for  the 
preservation  of  our  forests  and  measures  which 
confer  the  greatest  benefits  on  the  people  of  the  ad- 
jacent States. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  this  resolution  be  sent  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Honorable 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

By  the  President  of  the  Club:  The  Honorable 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

That  the  inside  history  of  this  forestry  work  in 
this  country  should  be  unknown  is  natural  enough. 
But  that  public  and  recorded  acts  should  have  been 
forgotten  by  those  who  ought  to  know  about  them 
is  very  surprising.  In  the  periodical  published  by 
the  American  Forestry  Association,  known  now  as 

458 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

American  Forestry,  but  formerly  as  Conservation, 
appeared  in  October,  1909,  the  statement  that  Mr. 
Cleveland  established  the  first  national  forests. 
This  brought  out  from  Robert  Underwood  John- 
son, of  the  Century  Magazine,  a  letter  pointing 
out  that,  in  fact,  the  first  national  forests  were 
established  under  President  Harrison's  administra- 
tion, and  Conservation,  now  American  Forestry, 
made  the  correction,  but  did  scant  justice  to  the 
excellent  work  in  forestry  accomplished  by  Secre- 
tary Noble  and  President  Harrison. 

The  men  of  to-day,  anxious  for  results,  and 
absorbed  in  their  own  affairs,  have  quite  forgotten 
those  earlier  men  who  made  possible  the  work 
which  the  men  of  to-day  are  doing.  Too  often 
those  who  start  a  great  movement  and  give  it  its 
initial  impetus  are  lost  sight  of  and  receive  not  even 
the  meagre  justice  of  a  mention  of  the  part  they 
played  when  struggling,  almost  alone,  to  bring 
about  great  reforms.  Happily,  in  this  case,  the 
story  of  what  General  Noble  had  done  was  told 
with  some  fullness  in  the  Forest  and  Stream  of 
March  9,  1893,  at  the  time  General  Noble  went 
out  of  office.  The  article  entitled  "Secretary 
Noble's  Monument"  was  recently  reprinted  in 
American  Forestry,  which  says,  with  amusing 
naivete,  it  "seems  like  an  original  source  of  ancient 

459 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

history,  so  rapidly  are  we  moving  in  this  twentieth 
century."     The  article  says: 

"We  have  more  than  once  called  attention  to  the 
broad  and  far-seeing  policy  inaugurated  by  Secretary 
Noble  in  the  matter  of  forest  preservation  in  the  less- 
inhabited  portions  of  the  country,  and  it  is  satisfac- 
tory to  see  that  the  daily  press  is  now  giving  him 
credit  for  the  great  work  he  has  done. 

"It  will  be  remembered  that,  beginning  with  the 
Yellowstone  National  Park,  which  was  brought  to 
the  notice  of  Mr.  Noble  early  in  his  administration, 
he  has  given  much  attention  to  the  question  of  our 
parks  and  timber  reservations.  To  say  nothing  of 
the  Grant,  Sequoia,  and  Tule  River  parks,  the 
preservation  of  which  we  owe  almost  entirely  to  Mr. 
Noble,  there  were  set  aside  soon  after  the  Act  of  Con- 
gress of  March  3,  1891,  six  timber  reservations,  em- 
bracing an  estimated  area  of  three  and  a  quarter 
million  of  acres.  Of  these,  three  lie  in  Colorado,  one 
in  New  Mexico,  one  in  Oregon,  and  one  in  Wyoming, 
adjoining  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  Besides 
these  forest  reserves,  Mr.  Noble  has  considered  as 
well  the  question  of  preserving  our  marine  mam- 
malian fauna  of  the  Northwest  coast,  which  is  so 
rapidly  disappearing  under  the  constant  persecution 
of  white  men  and  Indians,  and  has  set  aside  an 
Alaskan  island  as  a  reservation. 

"In  December  last  there  was  established  in  South- 
ern California  a  timber  reservation  near  Los  Angeles, 
including  nearly  1,000,000  acres.  This  will  be  known 

460 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

as  the  San  Gabriel  Timber  Land  Reservation,  and  in- 
cludes all  the  mountains  from  Salidad  Canon,  where 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  passes  through  the 
mountains,  eastward  to  the  Cajon  Pass.  A  little  later 
another  reservation  of  about  800,000  acres  was  an- 
nounced, to  be  called  the  San  Bernardino  Mountain 
Forest  Reservation.  This  adjoins  the  San  Gabriel 
reserve  and  runs  eastward  from  the  Cajon  Pass  to 
San  Gorgonio.  Finally,  the  I4th  of  February,'  the 
Sierra  Reservation  was  set  aside.  This  comprises 
over  4,000,000  acres  and  takes  in  the  high  Sierra,  ex- 
tending southward  from  the  line  of  the  Yosemite 
National  Park  to  the  seventh  standard  parallel  south. 
It  includes  the  existing  Grant,  Sequoia,  Tule  River, 
and  Mount  Whitney  reservations,  and  also  the 
wonderful  Kings  River  Canon,  which  has  been  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  John  Muir  in  the  Century  Magazine. 

"This  country  is  one  of  surpassingly  beautiful 
scenery  and  contains  some  of  the  highest  peaks  to 
be  found  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  It 
is  of  especial  interest  for  its  giant  forests,  many  of 
which  are  yet  untouched,  and  which  contain  the  great 
sequoias,  together  with  many  other  species  of  Pacific 
forest  trees  of  remarkable  interest  and  beauty.  Be- 
sides this,  the  region  is  interesting  as  containing  a 
considerable  amount  of  game,  and,  on  the  high  moun- 
tains, species  of  birds  and  mammals  which  are  not 
found  elsewhere  in  California. 

"Far  more  important,  however,  to  the  country, 
from  an  economic  point  of  view,  is  the  preservation 
of  the  water  supply,  which  will  be  insured  by  the 
setting  aside  of  these  reservations.  Throughout  mos' 

461 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

of  the  Western  country  the  question  of  water  for 
irrigating  purposes  is  the  most  vital  one  met  by  the 
settler,  but  it  is  only  within  a  very  few  years  that  the 
slightest  regard  has  been  had  to  the  farmer's  needs." 

Later  in  the  administration  other  reservations 
were  set  aside. 

The  good  work  accomplished  by  Secretary 
Noble  in  persuading  Mr.  Harrison  to  set  aside 
forest  reservations  was  continued  by  his  successor. 
Mr.  Cleveland  was  greatly  interested  in  the  forests, 
as  was  also  Secretary  Hoke  Smith.  During  the 
Cleveland  Administration,  Gifford  Pinchot  re- 
turned from  his  studies  in  Europe,  and  in  1896  was 
appointed  by  Secretary  Hoke  Smith  special  agent 
to  look  after  matters  pertaining  to  the  forest  re- 
serves. In  his  investigations  of  these  matters  he 
traveled  over  much  of  the  Western  country  and 
thoroughly  familiarized  himself  with  the  forests  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  of  the  Pacific  Slope. 
He  learned  also  that  the  forest  reserves  as  already 
set  aside  were  very  unpopular  in  the  Western 
country,  because  the  citizens  of  the  West  believed 
that  in  some  way  the  Government  was  endeavoring 
to  take  from  them  certain  rights  that  they  pos- 
sessed. The  Western  newspapers  were  full  of 
complaints,  and  a  bitter  feeling  prevailed. 

One  of  the  greatest  services  that  Mr.  Pinchot 
462 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

has  performed  for  forestry — and  his  services  have 
been  great — was  that  he  made  it  his  business  to  go 
into  newspaper  offices  all  over  the  land  when  this 
was  practicable,  and  to  patiently  and  laboriously 
explain  to  editors  what  forestry  meant  and  why 
for  any  locality  the  preservation  of  the  forests  of 
that  section  is  beneficial  to  that  section,  and  instead 
of  being  a  bad  thing,  is  a  good  thing  for  its  public. 
Mr.  Pinchot  was  later  appointed  United  States 
Forester,  and  soon  after  began  the  organization 
of  a  Bureau  of  Forestry  as  part  of  the  Land  Office 
of  the  Interior  Department.  What  he  has  since 
done  for  conservation  is  still  fresh  in  the  public 
mind. 

III. 

NEW  YORK  ZOOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  establishment  of  the  New  York  Zoological 
Society,  which  manages  the  New  York  Zoological 
Park  and  the  New  York  Aquarium,  was  the  work 
of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club.  In  the  Club's 
volume,  "Hunting  in  Many  Lands,"  the  history  of 
this  society  has  been  told  by  Mr.  Grant,  who  was 
the  moving  spirit  in  its  organization.  Briefly,  it  is 
as  follows: 

463 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

Beginning  about  the  year  1880,  a  number  of 
citizens  of  New  York  tried,  with  no  apparent 
success,  to  arouse  public  interest  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  zoological  garden  which  should  be  a 
credit  to  the  chief  city  of  the  United  States.  There 
had  been  much  talk  on  the  subject,  and  many 
articles  published,  but  nothing  definite  was  done 
until  1890,  when  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the 
Legislature  at  Albany,  providing  for  the  establish- 
men  of  a  zoological  park  on  city  lands  located 
north  of  15 5th  Street.  One  provision  of  the  bill 
authorized  the  New  York  Board  of  Park  Com- 
missioners to  turn  over  to  this  zoological  garden 
the  existing  menagerie  of  the  Central  Park.  This 
clause  provoked  violent  opposition  from  certain 
city  representatives,  and  the  bill  was  defeated. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Club,  held  January 
1 6,  1895,  tne  President,  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
appointed  a  committee,  of  which  Madison  Grant 
was  chairman,  to  look  after  legislation  in  New 
York  State  in  the  interest  of  game  preservation. 
One  object  for  which  this  committee  proposed  to 
work  was  to  found  in  New  York  City  a  zoological 
society  which  should  conduct  a  zoological  park  on 
new  lines,  based  on  those  principles  of  game  preser- 
vation for  which  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
stands. 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

W.  W.  Niles,  Jr.,  was  then  a  member  of  the 
Assembly,  representing  a  district  above  the  Harlem 
River,  where  it  seemed  probable  that  the  proposed 
park  would  be  located.  The  committee  took  the 
old  bill  to  Mr.  Niles,  who  agreed  to  push  it  on 
condition  that  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  would 
organize  the  society,  and  that  some  of  its  members 
should  appear  as  incorporators.  The  bill  was 
amended  in  accordance  with  his  suggestions,  and 
Madison  Grant  and  C.  -  Grant  La  Farge  were 
included  among  the  incorporators.  The  bill, 
modified  so  as  to  do  away  with  most  of  the  oppo- 
sition, passed  the  Assembly,  and  the  New  York 
Zoological  Society  was  organized  May  7,  1895. 
On  its  first  board  of  directors  were  nine  members 
of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  including  two 
vice-presidents  and  both  the  secretaries. 

The  work  of  the  Society  began  at  once.  After 
a  year  of  investigation,  the  southern  end  of  Bronx 
Park  was  chosen  for  the  location  of  the  Zoological 
Park,  and  in  March,  1897,  this  area  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  acres  was  granted  by  the  city 
to  the  New  York  Zoological  Society.  Within  a 
year  and  a  half  the  work  of  organizing  and 
improving  the  Park  had  so  far  advanced  that  it 
was  opened  to  the  public.  Its  decennial  celebration 
was  held  in  1909.  In  the  year  1902  the  New 

465 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

York  Zoological  Society  also  took  over  from  the 
city  the  New  York  Aquarium,  and  has  since 
managed  it.  It  has  brought  order  out  of  chaos, 
has  vastly  improved  the  methods  of  exhibiting 
the  collections,  and  more  than  doubled  their  size, 
besides  so  reorganizing  the  plant  that  they  are 
kept  in  good  health  and  do  not  require  to  be 
constantly  renewed.  The  popularity  of  these  two 
institutions  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the 
year  1909  more  than  five  and  one-half  millions  of 
people  visited  the  New  York  Zoological  Park  and 
the  New  York  Aquarium. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  work  of  the  Zoolog- 
ical Society  has  been  chiefly  in  the  direction  of 
organization.  It  has  established  a  park;  it  has 
provided  collections;  it  has  furnished  buildings  in 
which  to  house  these  collections.  The  time  is 
coming — nay  is  even  now  at  hand — when  research 
work  of  a  high  order  will  be  carried  on  under  its 
auspices.  Such  work  has  already  been  begun,  as  is 
shown  by  various  papers  published  by  the  directors 
of  the  two  institutions  and  by  the  curators  of  their 
various  departments. 

In  all  this  work  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
has  had  a  chief  part.  All  the  chief  officers  of  the 
Zoological  Society  and  a  number  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  are  members  of  the  Club,  as  are  also 

466 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

some  members  of  the  Scientific  Council.  The  New 
York  Zoological  Society  has  been  and  is  a  child  of 
the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club. 


IV. 

WATER-KILLING  DEER. 

Long  before  the  Club's  establishment,  efforts 
had  been  made  to  put  an  end  to  the  barbarous 
practice  of  killing  deer  in  the  water  in  the 
Adirondacks.  It  was  then  the  custom  to  put 
hounds  upon  the  track  of  deer  and  drive  them  until 
they  took  to  the  lakes  in  the  effort  to  throw  off 
the  hounds.  When  this  took  place,  men  rowed  up 
to  the  animal  and  blew  out  its  brains  or  cut  its 
throat  with  a  knife,  or  beat  it  to  death  with  a  club. 
This  method  of  killing  was  utterly  condemned  by 
the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  whose  constitution, 
in  its  fifth  article  declares,  that  "the  term  'fair 
chase'  shall  not  be  held  to  include  killing  bear, 
wolf  or  cougar  in  traps,  nor  'fire  hunting,'  nor 
'crusting'  moose,  elk  or  deer  in  deep  snow,  nor 
killing  game  from  a  boat  while  it  is  swimming  in 
the  water."  Article  X  declares  that  the  killing  of 
game  while  it  is  swimming  in  the  water  is  an 

467 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

"offense"  for  which  a  member  may  be  suspended 
or  expelled  from  the  Club. 

Forest  and  Stream  had  for  some  years  carried 
on  a  bitter  war  against  water-killing  deer,  and 
on  this  account  had  become  very  unpopular  in  the 
Adirondacks.  Bills  introduced  by  the  late  Gen. 
Newton  Martin  Curtiss  had  many  times  been 
defeated,  although  one  of  them  had  been  passed 
and  for  a  short  time  became  law.  There  was  a 
constant  struggle  between  the  two  parties  in  the 
Legislature,  one  desiring  to  put  an  end  to  the 
practice,  the  other  to  have  it  continued. 

Early  in  1897  bills  were  introduced,  one  by 
Hon.  Wm.  Gary  Sanger,  a  member  of  the  Club, 
forbidding  the  use  of  dogs  for  hunting  deer  at 
any  time,  and  also  forbidding  owners  of  dogs  to 
permit  them  to  run  at  large.  This  bill  was  intro- 
duced at  Mr.  Grant's  request,  but  was  subsequently 
withdrawn  in  favor  of  the  Ives  bill,  introduced  a 
week  later,  January  20,  which  forbade  fire-hunting, 
the  use  of  traps  or  salt  licks,  the  use  of  dogs  in 
hunting  deer,  or  permitting  such  dogs  to  run  at 
large.  This  bill,  earnestly  pressed  by  the  Boone 
and  Crockett  Club,  finally  became  a  law,  and  the 
hounding,  and  so  the  water-killing  of  deer  ended. 


468 


(The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

» 

V. 
ALASKA  GAME  LAW. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Alaska  and  the 
rush  thither  of  a  horde  of  miners  and  other  settlers, 
an.  enormous  destruction  of  large  game  animals 
took  place  in  that  then  unknown  region,  and  in 
certain  districts  the  game  was  exterminated.  Some 
forms  of  life — caribou  and  bears — seemed  to  be 
threatened  with  extinction.  It  was  apparent  that 
game  laws  were  needed  here — that  a  foundation 
must  be  laid  for  the  protection  of  these  large 
animals  over  the  one  great  area  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  which  is  still  unsettled.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  obvious  that  game  was  needed 
for  food  for  the  miners,  while  the  natives 
depended  for  subsistence  almost  wholly  on  the 
wild  animals. 

Early  in  the  year  1902,  two  members  of  the 
Club,  John  F.  Lacey,  of  Iowa,  and  Madison 
Grant,  of  New  York,  prepared  a  bill  to  protect  the 
game  of  Alaska,  which  Mr.  Lacey  introduced  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  It  prohibited  the 
killing  of  wild  game  animals,  or  wild  birds,  for 
purposes  of  shipment  from  the  District  of  Alaska. 
Game  animals  and  birds  were  defined.  Fur- 

469 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

bearing  animals,  such  as  fur  seal,  sea  otter  and 
all  fur-bearing  animals,  save  bears  and  sea  lions, 
were  excepted  from  the  provisions  of  the  act  so  far 
as  native  Indians  or  Eskimo  were  concerned;  but 
natives  were  not  permitted  to  sell  meat  or  heads. 
Seasons  were  established  for  killing  animals  and 
birds,  and  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  was 
authorized,  whenever  it  should  be  necessary  for 
the  preservation  of  game  birds  or  animals,  to  make 
and  publish  rules  and  regulations  which  should 
modify  the  close  seasons  established  in  the  bill,  or 
further  restrict  the  killing  or  entirely  prohibit  it 
for  five  years.  The  selling  of  hides,  skins  or  heads, 
or  their  shipment,  was  forbidden,  except  for 
scientific  purposes.  The  bill  became  law. 

When  this  Act  was  passed  it  was  reported  that 
cold  storage  warehouses  were  to  be  built  at  Skag- 
way  and  Valdez,  where  all  the  meat  that  could  be 
obtained  should  be  frozen  and  held  indefinitely. 
One  purpose  of  the  bill  was  to  cut  this  off,  but  its 
chief  object  was  to  prevent  an  export  trade  by 
taxidermists  in  the  heads  of  the  giant  moose  and 
the  white  sheep,  which  were  then  greatly  sought 
after.  It  was  also  regarded  as  highly  desirable 
to  establish  the  principle  that  a  game  law  was 
needed  in  the  territory. 

In  March,  1904,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Con- 
470 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

gress  looking  to  the  repeal  or  modification  of  the 
Alaska  game  laws.  This  repeal,  engineered  by 
Senator  Dillingham  on  his  return  from  a  trip  to 
Alaska,  brought  on  an  earnest  struggle  between 
the  Club  on  the  one  hand  and  Senator  Dillingham 
on  the  other.  After  much  discussion  and  the  pro- 
duction of  not  a  little  testimony  by  both  sides, 
Senator  Dillingham  withdrew  the  bill. 

The  present  Alaska  game  law,  drafted  by  Hon. 
W.  E.  Humphrey  in  1908,  is  a  modification  of 
the  old  law. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  game  law  for  Alaska,  to  be 
effective,  must  have  the  moral  support  of  the  best 
people  in  the  territory.  Over  a  region,  much  of 
which  is  still  untrodden  and  which  is  traversed  by 
men  who  of  necessity  must  live  largely  on  the 
country,  a  law  that  forbids  men  to  kill  food  for 
themselves  while  traveling,  cannot  have  popular 
support.  The  vastness  of  Alaska,  the  conditions 
of  a  region  yet  unsettled,  and  the  limited  number 
of  officials  who  can  be  called  on  to  enforce  the  law, 
must  make  any  statute  that  does  not  appeal  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  settlers  a  mere  dead  letter. 

The  present  law  is  quite  ineffective,  and  its  pro- 
visions are  enforced  only  against  the  exporting 
sportsmen  and  taxidermists.  Against  these  it 
works  well. 

47i 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

The  Canadian  government  in  the  Yukon  Terri- 
tory has  good  laws,  which  have  popular  support. 
This  is  largely  because  they  have  an  efficient  force 
of  officers,  the  Northwest  Mounted  Police,  and 
residents  of  Canada  recognize  the  fact  that  when 
these  policemen  set  out  to  arrest  a  man  they  do  not 
stop  until  they  have  got  him.  In  Alaska  the  game 
laws  are  supposed  to  be  enforced  by  the  United 
States  Marshals,  most  of  whom  feel  no  interest 
whatever  in  the  game  laws,  and  will  not  start  out 
to  look  for  a  man  unless  guaranteed  expenses  of 
ten  dollars  a  day.  The  Canadian  government 
endeavors  to  make  it  easy  for  its  citizens  to  supply 
themselves  with  meat,  but  when  the  killing  reaches 
undue  proportions,  or  the  game  leaves  a  certain 
district  where  it  has  been  abundant,  hunting  in  that 
district  is  stopped  for  a  time.  Their  laws  give 
power  to  the  police  to  do  many  things,  but  they 
also  hold  the  police  strictly  accountable  for  their 
actions.  In  this  way  they  get  from  them  excellent 
service.  The  United  States  Marshals,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  not  held  to  strict  responsibility,  and  exert 
themselves  only  in  situations  where  public  opinion 
insists  that  they  do  so. 

If  Congress  will  set  aside  as  a  game  refuge  some 
considerable  tract  of  Alaska  land  where  no  mines 
are  known  to  exist,  and  in  a  territory  suitable  for 

472 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

the  winter  and  summer  ranges  of  moose,  caribou 
and  wild  sheep,  much  may  be  done  to  preserve 
Alaska  game.  It  seems  clear  that  the  great  brown 
bears  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  of  the  coast  to  the 
southward,  and  of  the  islands,  must  take  their 
chance  of  survival.  It  will  probably  be  long 
before  they  will  be  exterminated,  and  before  then 
some  means  may  be  devised  for  setting  aside  a 
reservation  for  them. 


VI. 

GAME  REFUGES  AND  COLLATERAL  MOVEMENTS. 

The  principle  of  game  refuges — the  declaration 
that  a  necessary  step  in  the  work  of  game  protec- 
tion is  the  establishment  of  areas  in  which  animals 
may  not  be  pursued  or  hunted — was  first  set  forth 
by  the  Chib  soon  after  the  publication  of  the 
"American  Big  Game  Hunting,"  which  appeared 
1893.  In  that  volume  it  was  said: 

"The  forest  reserves  are  absolutely  unprotected. 
Although  set  aside  by  presidential  proclamation 
they  are  without  government  and  without  guards. 
Timber  thieves  may  still  strip  the  mountain  sides 
of  the  growing  trees,  and  poachers  may  still  kill  the 
game  without  fear  of  punishment. 

473 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

"This  should  not  be  so.  If  it  was  worth  while 
to  establish  these  reserves,  it  is  worth  while  to  pro- 
tect them.  *  *  *  The  timber  and  the  game  ought 
to  be  made  the  absolute  property  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  it  should  be  constituted  a  punishable  of- 
fense to  appropriate  such  property  within  the  limits 
of  the  reservation.  *  *  * 

"The  national  parks  and  forest  reserves  *  *  * 
by  proper  protection  may  become  great  game  pre- 
serves. *  *  *  In  these  reservations  is  to  be  found 
to-day  every  species  of  large  game  known  to  tHe 
United  States,  and  the  proper  protection  of  the 
reservations  means  perpetuating  in  full  supply  of  all 
these  indigenous  mammals." 


The  abuses  here  alluded  to  were  in  part 
remedied  by  the  Act  of  May  7,  1894,  but  only  so 
far  as  concerned  the  Yellowstone  Park.  To 
protect  the  Yellowstone  Park  was  well  for  the 
Yellowstone  and  the  surrounding  country,  but  did 
nothing  for  the  rest  of  the  country.  The  Club 
urged  then,  and  still  insists,  that  portions  of  the 
forest  reserves  shall  be  set  aside  as  game  refuges 
where  the  killing  of  wild  animals  shall  be  abso- 
lutely forbidden.  Constant  efforts  have  been  made 
to  emphasize  this,  and  long  before  he  took  the 
Presidential  chair,  Theodore  Roosevelt  spoke  in 
its  behalf  before  many  associations. 

474 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

In  1901,  speaking  of  the  forest  reserves,  he 
said: 

"Some  at  least  of  the  forest  reservations  should 
afford  perpetual  protection  to  the  native  fauna  and 
flora,  for  havens  of  refuge  to  our  rapidly  diminish- 
ing wild  animals  of  the  larger  kinds,  and  free  camp- 
ing grounds  for  the  ever  increasing  numbers  of  men 
and  women  who  have  learned  to  find  rest,  health 
and  recreation  in  the  splendid  forest  and  flower- 
clad  meadows  of  our  mountains.  The  forest  re- 
serves should  be  set  apart  forever  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  our  people  as  a  whole,  and  not  sacrificed 
to  the  short-sighted  greed  of  a  few." 

In  February,  1902,  John  F.  Lacey,  of  Iowa, 
introduced  in  the  House  of  Representatives  a  bill 
to  transfer  the  administration  of  the  forest  reserves 
to  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Its  second  sec- 
tion authorized  the  President  to  set  apart  by  execu- 
tive order  as  fish  and  game  preserves,  such  forest 
reserves,  or  parts  of  them,  as  he  might  deem  best. 
It  authorized  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  in 
charge  of  which  the  forest  reserves  should  be,  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  providing  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  forests,  the  fish  and  the  game,  and  to 
establish  methods  of  trial,  and  fixed  penalties,  in 
case  of  conviction  of  the  infraction  of  any  regula- 
tions so  established.  The  Committee  on  Public 
Lands,  to  which  the  bill  had  been  referred,  gave 

475 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

considerable  attention  to  the  subject  of  game  pro- 
tection, and  submitted  an  opinion  from  the 
Attorney-General  to  the  general  effect  that  it  was 
possible  by  legislation  lawfully  to  protect  the  game 
and  fish  of  the  reserves.  The  bill  failed  to  pass. 

In  the  year  1903  Alden  Sampson,  then  Secretary 
of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  was  appointed 
game  reserve  expert  by  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture, and,  working  under  the  Biological  Survey, 
spent  much  time  on  the  Pacific  Coast  studying 
conditions  there.  In  addition  to  his  investigations, 
Mr.  Sampson  performed  good  work  for  game 
preservation,  lecturing  and  talking  in  its  behalf. 
In  "American  Big  Game  in  Its  Haunts,"  the  fourth 
volume  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  books,  he 
had  an  interesting  paper  on  the  creating  of  game 
preserves,  which  deals  very  fully  with  his  work  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  points  out  the  necessity  of  game 
refuges  there,  and  shows  how  'effectively  such 
refuges  would  protect  the  game. 

No  argument  is  required  to  demonstrate  this. 
In  the  Yellowstone  Park  we  have  a  perpetual 
object  lesson.  Here  the  elk  exist  in  such  abundance 
that  in  severe  winters  they  starve  to  death,  while 
when  they  leave  certain  sections  of  that  Park  and 
move  down  into  Jackson's  Hole,  in  their  search  for 
food  they  destroy  the  fences,  hay  and  other  prop- 

476 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

erty  of  the  farmers.  Large  refuges  in  one  or  more 
of  the  forest  reserves  at  such  altitudes  that  the  elk 
would  not  be  forced  to  leave  them  at  the  approach 
of  winter,  as  they  do  in  the  Yellowstone  Park, 
would  soon  be  filled,  and  the  elk  would  scatter  out 
among  the  mountains,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
adjacent  public. 

In  the  second  session  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Con- 
gress a  bill  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
game  refuges  by  the  President  in  public  forest 
reserves,  not  exceeding  one  in  each  State  or  Terri- 
tory, passed  the  Senate  February  7,  1903,  and 
went  to  the  House,  where  it  failed.  The  bill 
provided  that  the  killing  or  capturing  of  game 
animals,  birds  and  fish  upon  the  lands  and  in  the 
waters  of  the  United  States  within  the  limits  of 
said  area  shall  be  unlawful,  and  that  any  one 
violating  the  provisions  of  the  Act  should,  on  con- 
viction, be  fined  not  more  than  a  thousand  dollars 
or  imprisoned  for  a  period  not  exceeding  one  year, 
or  suffer  both  fine  and  imprisonment,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court.  The  purpose  of  the  Act  was 
declared  to  be  to  protect  from  trespass  the  public 
lands  of  the  United  States,  the  game  animals,  birds 
and  fish  thereon,  and  not  to  interfere  with  the 
local  game  laws  as  affecting  private  State  or 
Territorial  lands. 

477 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

Early  in  1894,  the  Forest  and  Stream  recom- 
mended that  sportsmen  who  really  desired  the 
preservation  of  our  game  should  adopt  as  a  plank 
in  their  platform — or  as  an  article  of  faith  in  their 
creed — the  declaration  that  "The  sale  of  game 
must  be  forbidden  at  all  times."  This,  to  the 
general  public  when  first  announced,  seemed  an 
entirely  novel  and  impractical  idea,  and  was  gener- 
ally laughed  at.  The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club, 
however,  instantly  recognized  the  importance  of 
the  principle,  and  led  the  way  in  teaching  thinking 
sportsmen  to  see  that  the  most  certain  and  effective 
method  to  end  market  hunting  was  to  cut  off  the 
market  in  which  professional  hunters  sold  their 
game. 

The  principle  announced  sixteen  years  ago  has 
in  an  astonishingly  short  time  found  general  accept- 
ance throughout  North  America,  and  in  one  form 
or  another  is  now  embodied  in  the  statutes  of  most 
of  the  North  American  States,  Provinces  and  Ter- 
ritories. Its  importance  has  been  recognized  on 
other  continents  and  the  principle  has  been  put  in 
practice  by  the  British  in  Africa.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  far-reaching  steps  ever  taken  to  protect 
indigenous  fauna. 

In  the  year  1904,  Hon.  George  Shiras,  3d,  a 
member  of  the  Club,  introduced  into  the  House  of 

478 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

Representatives  a  bill  whose  purpose  was  to  put 
migratory  birds  and  fish  under  control  of  the 
United  States  Government.  The  protection  of 
game  and  fish  has  been  under  the  care  of  the  local 
authorities  of  the  different  States,  and  the  effort  to 
transfer  them  from  the  charge  of  the  States  to  the 
charge  of  the  Federal  Government,  though  by 
most  people  acknowledged  to  be  desirable,  was  at 
first  believed  to  be  unconstitutional.  The  matter 
was  discussed  by  a  number  of  lawyers,  among 
whom  were  Mr.  Shiras,  Judge  D.  C.  Beaman  and 
Hon.  H.  L.  Stimson.  These  three  gentlemen  took 
three  diverse  views  of  the  matter. 

In  1906,  Mr.  Shiras  wrote  a  long  brief  on  the 
subject,  which  was  printed  in  that  year  in  Forest 
and  Stream.  It  shows  much  research.  The  Shiras 
bill  never  came  to  a  vote,  and  in  fact  was  intro- 
duced only  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  matter 
before  the  public. 

The  principle  of  game  refuges  should  have  the 
broadest  application.  Major  Wadsworth  advo- 
cates encouraging  the  farmers  everywhere  to  set 
aside  tracts  in  which  neither  owners  nor  any  others 
except  the  designated  killers  of  vermin  may  trap  or 
shoot.  Refuges  should  be  established  everywhere 
for  mammals  and  for  birds.  It  is  the  most  import- 
ant thing  for  which  sportsmen  should  now  work. 

479 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
VII. 

GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Club's  history,  one  of 
its  members  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  a  section  in 
Montana,  now  well  known.  This  is  the  St.  Mary's 
country,  whose  great  landmark,  Chief  Mountain, 
is  so  impressive.  The  region  possessed  peculiar 
interest  for  the  hunting  it  offered,  for  mountain 
climbing,  or  for  the  study  of  the  Indians,  whose 
country  it  was.  In  all  America  there  is  probably 
no  such  beautiful  land,  which  is  at  the  same  time 
easily  accessible,  and  which  has  been  so  great  a 
game  country.  In  the  last  years  of  the  last  century 
Mr.  Grinnell  described  this  section  in  an  article 
entitled  the  "Crown  of  the  Continent,"  and 
recommended  that  it  be  set  apart  as  a  national 
park.  Later,  Senator  Thomas  H.  Carter,  of  Mon- 
tana, a  member  of  the  Club,  introduced  in  Con- 
gress a  bill  to  establish  the  Glacier  National  Park. 
The  citizens  of  Montana  were  heartily  in  favor  of 
this  measure,  as  were  the  scientific  men,  travelers 
and  hunters,  who  had  visited  the  region.  The  bill 
more  than  once  passed  the  Senate,  and  early  in 
1910  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  on 
May  1 2  was  approved  by  the  President  and  became 

480 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

law.  This  Park  the  country  owes  to  the  Boone 
and  Crockett  Club,  whose  members  discovered  the 
region,  suggested  its  being  set  aside,  caused  the 
bill  to  be  introduced  in  Congress  and  awakened 
interest  in  it  all  over  the  country. 


VIII. 

CANADA'S  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  RESERVATIONS. 

The  setting  aside  of  the  Glacier  National  Park 
in  Montana,  just  south  of  the  Boundary  Line,  calls 
renewed  attention  to  the  quiet  work  done  in 
Canada  within  the  past  few  years  in  establishing 
parks  and  reservations  which  shall  protect  the 
natural  resources  of  that  broad  region.  In  1895 
the  Waterton  Lakes  Forest  Park,  situated  on  the 
International  Boundary  Line,  about  thirty  miles 
southwest  of  Cardston,  Alberta,  and  adjoining  the 
Glacier  National  Park,  was  set  aside  by  order 
in  Council.  Subsequently  it  was  included  as  one 
of  the  Forest  Reserves  in  the  Forest  Reserve  Act 
of  1906,  and  later  it  was  decided  to  administer  it 
as  one  of  the  series  of  Dominion  Parks.  The 
regulations  under  which  it  is  administered  provide 
for  the  protection  of  game,  and  limit  the  fishing 

481 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

in  respect  to  manner  of  capture,  quantity,  size  and 
season. 

The  Canadian  Government  has  also*  reserved 
from  sale  and  settlement,  in  the  interest  of  the 
conservation  of  forests,  and  the  protection  of  the 
water  supply,  the  rougher  forested  portions  of  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This 
reservation  comprises  approximately  14,400  square 
miles.  It  begins  at  the  International  Boundary  and 
runs  about  410  miles  in  a  northwesterly  direction, 
following  the  crest  of  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  forms  the  boundary  between 
the  Provinces  of  Alberta  and  British  Columbia 
to  the  intersection  of  that  line  with  the  i2Oth 
meridian.  The  strip  of  land  is  irregular  in  width, 
from  ten  to  thirty  miles  wide  up  to  the  5ist  par- 
allel, thence  widening  to  a  width  of  from  thirty  to 
fifty  miles  up  to  the  54th  parallel,  where  it  tapers 
to  the  izoth  meridian. 

In  the  tract  described  are  situated  the  Waterton 
Lakes  Park,  the  Rocky  Mountains  Park,  with  an 
area  of  4500  square  miles,  and  the  Jaspar  Forest 
Park  with  an  area  of  5000  square  miles.  In  these 
parks,  hunting  and  shooting  are  forbidden,  but 
fishing  may  be  done  under  adequate  regulation. 
These  parks,  therefore,  are  game  refuges,  in  which 
for  all  times  those  animals  indigenous  to  them — 

482 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

and  such  others  as  may  be  successfully  introduced 
—may  live  undisturbed.  In  the  portions  of  the 
great  reserve  not  already  set  aside  as  parks, 
hunting  and  trapping  will  be  permitted  under 
restrictions. 

Here  is  a  vast  area,  giving  a  territory  of  ap- 
proximately sixteen  thousand  square  miles  of 
mountainous  territory,  brought  under  special  ad- 
ministration by  two  neighboring  countries.  This 
action  will  secure  not  only  the  protection  of  the 
forests,  and  the  water  supply,  but  also  the  fish, 
game  and  bird  life,  and  will  preserve  for  the 
enjoyment  of  this  and  future  generations  the  un- 
touched beauty  and  charm  of  the  everlasting  hills. 

A  large  herd  of  buffalo,  purchased  in  western 
Montana,  was  transported  to  Canada  and  set  free 
in  a  large  park  near  Edmonton,  Alberta,  where 
they  are  doing  extremely  well,  and  promise  great 
increase. 

For  much  of  this  all  English-speaking  residents 
of  North  America  have  to  thank  Hon.  Frank 
Oliver,  the  Dominion  Minister  of  the  Interior,  a 
member  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  whose 
keen  intelligence  looks  far  enough  into  the  future 
to  enable  him  to  provide  for  changes  which  many 
of  us  are  as  yet  unable  to  foresee. 


483 


(The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
IX. 

EXAMPLES  OF  LOCAL  WORK. 

Besides  these  larger  matters,  which  have  a  gen- 
eral interest  for  the  whole  country,  different  mem- 
bers of  the  Club,  at  various  times  and  in  various 
places,  have  performed  excellent  work,  whether 
by  enforcing  existing  laws,  moulding  public  opin- 
ion in  one  direction  or  another,  or  influencing 
individuals  to  act  in  behalf  of  wise  game  protec- 
tion. Two  examples  of  such  work  may  be  cited, 
one  many  years  ago  in  Wyoming  Territory,  an- 
other much  more  recent,  in  New  York. 

In  the  year  1888,  three  members  of  the  Boone 
and  Crockett  Club— Col.  Wm.  D.  Pickett,  Archi- 
bald Rogers  and  T.  Paton — assisted  by  Otto 
Franc,  a  local  Justice  of  the  Peace,  undertook  the 
first  enforcement  in  the  Territory  of  Wyoming  of 
the  laws  for  the  protection  of  game.  Jim  Gehman 
was  appointed  game  constable  October  i,  1888, 
and  it  was  understood  that  for  the  district  about 
Grey  Bull  River  the  existing  game  laws  were  to  be 
enforced. 

The  mere  fact  that  a  game  constable  had  been 
appointed  caused  a  stampede  from  the  region  by 
all  the  head,  hide  and  meat  hunters,  and  in  this 

484 


'The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

way  much  game,  chiefly  elk,  sheep  and  antelope, 
was  saved  from  destruction.  Many  hunting 
parties  coming  in  from  Montana  were  turned  back 
and  several  arrests  were  made,  one  man  being 
followed  over  one  hundred  miles  before  he  was 
caught. 

The  hostility  and  odium  incurred  by  the  pro- 
jectors of  this  movement  to  enforce  the  game  laws 
was  very  great,  and  many  threats  were  made  of 
what  would  be  done  to  them ;  but  in  the  picturesque 
language  of  the  time  and  country  neither  Pickett, 
Rogers  nor  Paton  "scared  worth  a  cent."  Jim 
Gehman  had  already  shot  his  man  in  self-defense, 
and  had  demonstrated  that  he  was  not  to  be  trifled 
with. 

An  amusing  incident  of  this  working  toward 
protection  occurred  at  this  time,  when  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  unac- 
quainted with  the  law,  came  into  the  mountains  to 
hunt,  and  fell  into  Jim's  hands.  He  was  obliged 
to  turn  back. 

The  good  work  went  on  during  the  following 
year,  1889,  and  much  less  feeling  was  shown  by 
the  residents,  as  they  began  to  realize  that  what 
was  being  done  was  for  the  best  interests  of  all. 

In  September,  1888,  Colonel  Pickett  had  been 
elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Wyoming,  and  took 

485 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

his  seat  January,  1890.  He  was  appointed  chair- 
man of  the  Game  and  Fisheries  Committee  of  the 
House,  which  passed  a  very  sensible  set  of  game 
laws,  March  14,  1890. 

In  this  way  a  few  resolute  men,  members  of  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  accomplished  in  the 
then  unsettled  region  of  northwestern  Wyoming, 
work  which  preserved  from  extinction  all  the 
larger  game  animals  until  the  time  came  when  the 
tide  of  settlement  swept  over  the  whole  country. 

When  this  tide  of  settlement  came,  the  herds  of 
elk,  mountain  sheep  and  antelope  were  in  part 
pushed  higher  up  into  the  mountains  and  finally 
over  their  crest,  and  drifted  west.  In  and  about 
the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  the  descendants 
of  these  animals  may  be  found  to-day. 

Good  local  work  was  done  by  Major  W.  Austin 
Wadsworth,  the  President  of  the  Club,  who  was 
appointed  President  of  the  New  York  Forest,  Fish 
and  Game  Commission  by  Governor  Roosevelt  in 
1900.  No  one  knew  better  than  Major  Wads- 
worth  the  needs  of  New  York  State  as  to  the  pro- 
tection of  forests,  fish  and  game,  and  no<  man 
occupying  the  position  of  President  of  the  Game 
Commission  ever  worked  harder  to  accomplish 
results.  His  labors  were  devoted  especially  to  the 
protection  of  the  forests  and  to  efforts  to  secure 

486 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

legislation  looking  toward  the  purification  of  the 
waters  of  the  State.  The  economic  importance  of 
this  question  of  pure  water,  long  ago  recognized 
by  a  few,  is,  curiously  enough,  as  yet  of  no  interest 
whatever  to  the  general  public,  though  on  it  depend 
vast  economic  interests — the  inland  fisheries  of  the 
State — and,  still  more  vital,  the  public  health. 

In  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Forest,  Fish 
and  Game  Commission,  Major  Wadsworth  recom- 
mended that  certain  measures  be  taken  to  prevent 
forest  fires ;  that  the  killing  of  does  be  prohibited 
at  all  times ;  and  that  spring  duck  shooting  be  for- 
bidden. The  Legislature's  attention  was  especially 
called  to  the  difficulty  of  enforcing  the  law  in 
regard  to  the  pollution  of  streams.  "This  is  a 
matter  of  vital  importance  and  not  to  be  dismissed 
as  affecting  only  the  lives  of  some  fishes,  the 
pleasures  of  some  anglers  or  the  dividends  of  some 
pulp  mills.  We  are  a  water-drinking  people,  and 
we  are  allowing  every  brook  to  be  defiled.  Nature 
provides  that  they  should  be  kept  pure.  *  *  * 
It  is  not  necessary  to  destroy  or  hamper  any  in- 
dustry in  order  to  prevent  the  pollution  of  water- 
courses. What  is  really  needed  is  to  check  the 
criminal  selfishness  of  those  who  would  rather 
poison  their  fellow  citizens  with  their  offal  than  to 
spend  a  few  dollars  to  take  care  of  it." 

497 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

These  were  strong  words,  and  might  have  been 
expected  to  move  the  Legislature — or  if  not  the 
Legislature,  then  the  public — out  of  its  attitude  of 
stolid  indifference,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  took 
place.  No  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  pro- 
vide for  the  purification  of  our  streams,  and  the 
old  struggle,  carried  on  by  the  few  who  are  inter- 
ested in  this  vital  matter  to  arouse  the  many  who 
as  yet  care  not  one  whit  about  it,  goes  on  and  will 
go  on. 

No  details  can  be  given  concerning  the  note- 
worthy services  performed  by  many  members  of 
the  Club  in  the  fields  of  science,  exploration  and 
conservation;  but  some  distinguished  names  may 
be  mentioned.  The  list  of  scientific  men  includes 
J.  A.  Allen,  Arthur  Erwin  Brown,  D.  G.  Elliott, 
Arnold  Hague,  Clarence  King,  Henry  S.  Prichett, 
C.  H.  Merriam,  Henry  Fairfield  Osborn,  Chas.  H. 
Townsend  and  Chas.  D.  Walcott.  Among  trav- 
elers and  explorers  are  Col.  D.  L.  Brainard,  Wm. 
Astor  Chanler,  W.  T.  Hornaday,  A.  P.  Low, 
Warburton  Pike,  W.  W.  Rockhill,  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  F.  C.  Selous,  A.  Donaldson  Smith, 
Wm.  Lord  Smith,  Chas.  Sheldon  and  Wm.  Fitz- 
hugh  Whitehouse.  Men  in  high  government 
authority  who  have  performed  notable  services  for 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

game  and  forest  preservation,  and  conservation 
generally,  are  Gen.  John  W.  Noble,  formerly  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior;  Hon.  Frank  Oliver,  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada ; 
Senator  T.  H.  Carter,  Hon.  John  F.  Lacey  and 
Gifford  Pinchot,  formerly  United  States  Forester 
All  these  men  have  served  well  their  fellow  men. 
Within  the  last  twenty  years  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club  has  been  consulted  and  has  worked 
for  or  against  legislation  in  various  parts  of  North 
America.  From  all  over  the  land  persons  inter- 
ested in  game  protection  bring  to  it  their  problems 
and  ask  its  advice.  In  addition  to  this,  the  officers 
of  the  Club  have  often  been  consulted  as  to  condi- 
tions in  foreign  countries,  and  the  best  forms  for 
game  laws.  Mr.  Grant  is  responsible  for  portions 
of  the  present  game  laws  of  Newfoundland,  and  it 
was  he  who  suggested  that  a  strip  of  protected  land 
should  be  set  aside  on  either  side  of  the  New- 
foundland Railway,  on  which  the  migrating  cari- 
bou might  not  be  killed  or  pursued.  Out  of  the 
setting  aside  of  this  strip  grew  the  laying  off  of  a 
similar  strip  along  the  Uganda  Railway  in  British 
East  Africa,  which  has  resulted  in  an  extraordinary 
abundance  of  game  there.  Suggestions  and  advice 
have  been  given  with  regard  to  public  parks  and 
game  reserves  in  British  Columbia,  and  correspon- 

489 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

dence  had  with  the  Governor-General  of  Canada 
in  recent  years,  was  followed  by  action  looking 
toward  the  protection  of  the  wood  buffalo  and  the 
musk-ox. 

It  thus  appears  that  since  its  establishment  in 
1888,  the  purposes  and  activities  of  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club  have  wholly  changed — it  might  be 
said,  have  been  reversed.  Beginning  as  a  club  of 
riflemen,  apparently  concerned  only  with  their  own 
recreation,  it  early  discovered  that  more  important 
work  was  to  be  done  in  the  field  of  protection  than 
in  that  of  destruction.  No  sooner  had  the  Club 
been  organized  and  begun  to  consider  the  subjects 
which  most  interested  it,  than  it  became  apparent 
that  on  all  hands  the  selfishness  of  individuals  was 
rapidly  doing  away  with  all  the  natural  things  of 
this  country,  and  that  a  halt  must  be  called.  The 
Club  was  fortunate  in  numbering  among  its  mem- 
bers certain  men,  who  had  been  active  in  various 
fields,  and  when  a  subject  came  up  that  required 
investigation,  some  member  of  the  Club  was 
usually  found  who  either  knew  the  subject  or  knew 
where  to  go  for  information  concerning  it. 

A  detailed  history  of  the  Club  during  the  past 
twenty  years  would  be  of  much  interest  and  would 
show  far  better  than  can  a  reminiscent  paper,  such 

490 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

as  this,  its  usefulness  and  its  influence.  It  has  not 
been  the  Club's  practice  to  announce  its  purposes, 
nor  to  glory  in  what  it  has  accomplished,  but  rather 
to  move  steadfastly  forward,  striving  constantly  to 
do  whatever  fell  within  its  province  which  would 
tend  to  promote  the  country's  welfare.  Some  mem- 
bers not  closely  in  touch  with  the  Club's  active 
work  are  not  well  informed  as  to  what  it  has  done, 
and  it  is  in  a  measure  for  the  purpose  of  acquaint- 
ing such  members  with  facts  of  its  accomplish- 
ments that  this  paper  has  been  prepared. 

It  would  have  been  natural  and  easy  for  the  Club 
to  have  confined  its  activities  to  meeting  at  intervals 
to  dine,  and  discuss  abuses  and  dangers,  and  to  pass 
stirring  resolutions,  about  them.  Instead  of  this, 
it  has  had  a  small  body  of  intelligent  men,  scat- 
tered all  over  the  country,  working  individually 
and  constantly  in  behalf  of  things  once  laughed  at 
or  unknown,  but  now  as  familiar  to  the  public  mind 
as  household  words.  The  results  accomplished  by 
the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  bear  testimony  to  the 
alertness  and  energy  of  its  members,  and  to  the 
success  of  the  methods  which  they  have  pursued. 


OFFICERS 
OF  THE  BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB 


President. 
William  Austin  Wadsworth  .........  Geneseo,  N.  Y. 

Vice-Presidents. 
Arnold  Hague  ..................  Washington,  D.  C. 

Walter  B.  Devereux  ......................  Colorado 

Archibald  Rogers   .....................  New  York 

George  Bird  Grinnell  ...................  New  York 

Madison  Grant  ........................  New  York 

Secretary. 
Henry  G.  Gray  .............  49  Wall  St.,  New  York 

Treasurer. 
W.  Redmond  Cross  .........  33  Pine  St.  New  York 

Executive  Committee. 

William  Austin  Wadsworth,  ex-oflicio,  Chairman. 
Henry  G.  Gray,  ex-ofhcio. 
W.  Redmond  Cross,  ex-oflicio. 

Lewis  Rutherfurd  Morris,)^  ... 

_.,        ,  TT  ,        ...    ,  £  u  ?To  serve  until  1914. 

Edward  Hubert  Litchfield,J 

Charles  Sheldon,  )  ~  .. 

ixnr        t^   ™  V  To  serve  until  1915. 

William  K.  Draper,  j 

George  L.  Harrison,  Jr.,  }  _  ~ 

,xr.  ^.      .          J       £  To  serve  until  1916. 

Wmthrop  Chanler,  j 

492 


COMMITTEES 
Game  Preservation  Committee. 

Charles  Sheldon,  Chairman. 

J.  Walter  Wood,  Charles  H.  Townsend, 

W.  Redmond  Cross,  E.  W.  Nelson, 

Edward  Hubert  Litchfield,    Alexander  Lambert. 

George  Bird  Grinnell,         1   A  .  .          ,,      , 
T      -   «    u    r    JTV/T      •    Y  Advisory  Members. 
Lewis  Rutherfurd  Morris,  j      . 

Finance  Committee. 

Henry  G.  Gray,  Chairman New  York,  N.  Y. 

Lewis  Rutherfurd  Morris New  York,  N.  Y. 

Daniel  Moreau  Barringer Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lyman  M.  Bass Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

George  L.  Harrison,  Jr Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Henry  Clay  Pierce New  York,  N.  Y. 

William  B.  Bogert Chicago,  111. 

Percy  C.  Madeira Philadelphia,  Pa. 

William  Astor  Chanler New  York,  N.  Y. 

George  Shiras,  3d Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Robert  Parkman  Blake Boston,  Mass. 

W.  B.  Mershon Saginaw,  Mich. 

James  Hathaway  Kidder New  York,  N.  Y. 

Frank  C.  Crocker Hill  City,  S.  D. 

George  H.  Gould Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 

Lewis  S.  Thompson Red  Bank,  N.  J. 

House  Committee. 

Chas.  Stewart  Davison,  Chairman. 

Henry  G.  Gray,  Alexander  Lambert. 

Editorial  Committee. 
George  Bird  Grinnell. .  .238  East  I5th  St.,  New  York 

Theodore  Roosevelt Oyster  Bay,  N.  Y. 

493 


REPORT  OF  NOMINATING  COMMITTEE 

The  Nominating  Committee  respectfully  reports  that 
it  has  given  careful  consideration  to  the  general  situa- 
tion in  relation  to  nominations  and  the  various  classes 
of  membership  of  the  club,  and  that  it  has  deemed  it 
desirable  in  connection  with  making  the  regular  nomi- 
nations for  executive  officers  to  make  certain  further 
recommendations  to  the  club  concerning  Honorary 
Membership.  It  is  aware  that  Honorary  members  are 
elected  by  the  Executive  Committee  and  not  by  the 
club  at  large;  but  is  nevertheless  of  opinion  that  the 
Executive  Committee  would  prefer  to  learn  the  views 
of  the  club  before  taking  action  along  the  line  which 
it  desires  to  suggest.  It  therefore  takes  this  method 
of  obtaining  such  an  expression  of  view.  It  calls  to 
the  club's  attention  that  there  have  been  four  Honor- 
ary members,  all  now  deceased:  Judge  Caton,  Mr. 
Parkman  and  Generals  Sheridan  and  Sherman.  Mean- 
while conditions  here  in  the  United  States  in  relation 
to  the  shooting  of  large  game  have  materially  altered 
during  the  past  fifteen  to  twenty  years  and  will  change 
in  the  future  even  more  rapidly.  Sportsmen  must 
necessarily  go  further  afield,  and  large  game  shoot- 
ing as  also  the  protection  of  large  game,  is  year  by 
year  assuming  more  and  more  of  an  international 
aspect.  Under  these  circumstances  the  committee 

494 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

have  given  consideration  to  the  position  taken  by  the 
Shikar  Club  and  to  the  objects  of  that  club  as  set 
forth  in  its  annual.  The  committee  calls  the  attention 
of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  to  the  following  ex- 
pression of  those  objects;  that  is,  the  recital  by  the 
Shikar  Club  of  its  cordial  sympathy  with  the  objects 
of  its  sister  society  known  as  "The  Fauna"  with  which 
it  has  many  members  in  common,  to  wit:  the  preser- 
vation of  wild  species  within  the  British  Empire  and 
the  bringing  home,  as  they  say,  to  their  rulers  of  their 
responsibility  in  the  matter. 

The  Shikar  Club  continuing,  recites  among  its  ob- 
jects: the  development  of  the  social  side  of  sport;  the 
bringing  together  of  camp-fire  friends,  the  old-time 
hunter  and  the  young  aspirant;  the  maintaining  of  a 
standard  of  sportsmanship;  the  inculcating  of  a  love 
of  forest,  mountain  and  desert,  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  habits  of  animals ;  the  encouraging  of  the  stren- 
uous pursuit  of  a  wary  and  dangerous  quarry;  the 
development  of  the  instinct  of  a  well-devised  approach 
and  of  the  patient  retrieving  of  wounded  animals. 
These  points,  as  we  all  know,  have  occupied  more  and 
more  of  the  attention  of  this  club  also.  All  these  ob- 
jects are  similar  to  those  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this 
club  served  as  a  model  for  the  Shikar  Club.  In  one 
matter,  however,  the  Shikar  Club  has  recognized  an 
opportunity  which  this  club  has  neglected ;  that  is,  in 
electing  to  Honorary  Membership  distinguished  for- 
eign sportsmen.  Among  them  three  of  our  own  mem- 
bership figure— our  Secretary,  Mr.  Grant,  our  Asso- 

495 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

ciate  Member,  Dr.  Hornaday,  and  our  first  President, 
Mr.  Roosevelt.  Austria,  France,  Russia,  Bohemia  and 
Roumania  are  also  represented. 

The  Nominating  Committee,  therefore,  recommends 
that  while  not  limiting  the  Honorary  Membership  to 
foreigners,  the  Executive  Committee  should  elect  to 
such  membership  a  certain  number  of  others  than 
Americans,  distinguished  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
for  adherence  to  the  objects  which  this  club  was 
founded  to  attain;  to  the  end  that  there  shall  arise 
more  of  an  interchange  of  view  upon,  and  mutual 
assistance  in  subjects  of  common  interest;  that  such 
of  our  members  as  may  pursue  sport  with  the  rifle 
'  in  other  countries  may  be  brought  more  closely  in 
relation  with  foreign  sportsmen,  and  that  the  general 
interest,  without  which  the  particular  interest  cannot 
be  subserved,  may  be  added. 

The  Nominating  Committee,  therefore,  requests  the 
club  to  recommend  to  the  Executive  Committee  that 
certain  elections  be  made  to  Honorary  Membership, 
to  wit: 

From  among  the  present  membership  of  this  club, 
our  former  President,  Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  our 
Associate  Member,  the  President  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  Prof.  Henry  Fairfield 
Osborn,  and  from  our  present  list  of  active  members, 
Col.  William  D.  Pickett,  one  of  our  Vice-Presidents, 
and  Dr.  Daniel  Giraud  Elliot.  And  that  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  take  up  the  question  of  increasing  the 
Honorary  Membership  by  the  selection  and  electing 
of  a  certain  number  of  distinguished  foreign  sports- 

496 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

men  not  to  exceed  five  in  any  year,  and  in  that  con- 
nection that  it  consider  the  names  of  those  who  com- 
pose the  Shikar  Club  and  any  strictly  similar  sport- 
ing clubs  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

In  regard  to  the  regular  executive  officers  to  be 
elected,  the  Nominating  Committee  recommends  the 
following  names : 

For  President :  Wm.  Austin  Wadsworth,  of  Geneseo, 
N.  Y. 

For  Vice-Presidents :  Messrs.  Arnold  Hague,  of 
Washington,  D.  C. ;  Walter  B.  Devereux,  of  Colorado ; 
Archibald  Rogers,  of  New  York.  And  (if  the  club 
and  Executive  Committee  shall  look  favorably  on  the 
recommendations  concerning  the  Honorary  Member- 
ship list)  to  fill  the  vacancies  created  by  the  trans- 
ferring to  that  list  of  Messrs.  Pickett  and  Roosevelt, 
the  Nominating  Committee  recommends  the  names  of 
Messrs.  George  Bird  Grinnell  and  Madison  Grant, 
both  of  New  York,  as  Vice-Presidents. 

For  Secretary :  The  Nominating  Committee  recom- 
mends Mr.  Henry  G.  Gray,  understanding  that  for  a 
year  Mr.  Grant,  who  has  been  our  efficient  Secretary 
for  so  long,  will  act  as  Honorary  Secretary  and  famil- 
iarize Mr.  Gray  with  the  work  of  his  department.. 

For  Treasurer:  The  Nominating  Committee,  in 
view  of  the  refusal  of  Mr.  C.  Grant  LaFarge  to  accept 
a  renomination,  recommends  Mr.  William  Redmond 
Cross. 

To  fill  the  vacancies  on  the  Executive  Committee 
the  Nominating  Committee  recommends  Mr.  George 
L.  Harrison,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  Winthrop  Chanler. 

497 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

For  the  Editorial  Committee,  the  Nominating  Com- 
mittee recommends  Mr.  George  Bird  Grinnell  and  Mr. 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

CHARLES  STEWART  DAVISON, 
BAYARD  DOMINICK,  JR., 
WILLIAM  REDMOND  CROSS. 


498 


REPORT  OF  THE  TREASURER 
FROM  FEBRUARY  i,  1912,  TO  FEBRUARY  i,  1913. 

Balance  in  bank,  February  i,  1912 $2,133.9? 

1912  Annual  Dues $1,000.00 

1912   Initiation   Fees 100.00 

Subscriptions  to  date  to  Special 
Fund  for  the  Preservation  of 
wild  life  in  North  America..  3,760.00 

4,860.00 


$6,993-97 
Disbursements : — 

Rent  to  February  I,  1913 $507.00 

Printing,  etc 418.95 

Storage  on  B.  &  C.  Club  box. .          3.00 
Refreshments,    meeting    April, 

1911    9-35 

Bookcase    12-74 

Washington    dinner    in    May, 

1912,  cost  for  12  guests. . . .  78.00 

Typewriting,    telephone     calls, 

clerical  work,  postage,  etc.. .  191.32 

Operator,  screen    and    lantern, 

meeting  of  December  17....  10.00 

Bank  exchange i  .41 

1,231.77 

Balance  .  $5,762.20 


REPORT  OF  AUDITING  COMMITTEE 
February  20,  1913. 

This  is  to  certify  that  we  have  examined  the  account  of  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  attached  hereto, 
and  find  the  same  correct;  that  all  the  expenditures  are 
proper,  and  that  the  balance  is  as  stated. 


499 


CONSTITUTION 

FOUNDED   DECEMBER,    1887 

Article  I. 

This  Club  shall  be  known  as  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club. 

Article  II. 

The  object  of  the  Club  shall  be : 

1.  To  promote  manly  sport  with  the  rifle. 

2.  To  promote  travel  and  exploration  in  the  wild 
and  unknown,  or  but  partially  known,  portions  of  the 
country. 

3.  To  work  for  the  preservation  of  the  large  game 
of  this  country,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  further 
legislation  for  that  purpose,  and  to  assist  in  enforcing 
the  existing  laws. 

4.  To  promote  inquiry  into,  and  to  record  observa- 
tions on,  the  habits  and  natural  history  of  the  various 
wild  animals. 

5.  To  bring  about  among  the  members  the  inter- 
change of  opinions  and  ideas  on  hunting,  travel  and 
exploration;  on  the  various  kinds  of  hunting  rifles; 
on  the  haunts  of  game  animals,  etc. 

500 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

Article  III. 

No  one  shall  be  eligible  for  Regular  Membership 
who  shall  not  have  killed  with  the  rifle,  in  fair  chase, 
by  still-hunting  or  otherwise,  at  least  one  adult  male 
individual  of  each  of  three  of  the  various  species  of 
American  large  game. 

Article  IV. 

Under  the  head  of  American  large  game  are  in- 
cluded the  following  animals:  Black  bear,  grizzly 
bear,  brown  bear,  polar  bear,  buffalo  (bison),  moun- 
tain sheep,  woodland  caribou,  barren  ground  caribou, 
cougar,  musk-ox,  white  goat,  elk  (wapiti),  pronghorn 
antelope,  moose,  Virginia  deer,  mule  deer,  and  Colum- 
bia black-tail  deer. 

Article  V. 

The  term  fair  chase  shall  not  be  held  to  include  kill- 
ing bear  or  cougar  in  traps,  or  crusting  moose,  elk,  or 
deer  in  deep  snow,  or  calling,  jacking,  or  killing  them 
from  a  boat  while  swimming,  or  any  method  other 
than  fair  stalking  or  still-hunting. 

Article  VI. 

This  Club  shall  consist  of  not  more  than  one  hun- 
dred regular  members,  and  of  such  Associate  and 
Honorary  members  as  may  be  elected  by  the  Execu- 
tive Committee.  Associate  members  shall  be  chosen 

501 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

from  those  who  by  their  furtherance  of  the  objects 
of  the  Club,  or  general  qualifications,  shall  recommend 
themselves  to  the  Executive  Committee;  but  except, 
for  special  reasons  satisfactory  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, no  one  eligible  to  Regular  Membership  shall 
be  elected  to  Associate  Membership.  Associate  and 
Honorary  members  shall  be  exempt  from  dues  and 
initiation  fees,  and  shall  not  be  entitled  to  vote. 


Article  VII. 

The  officers  of  the  Club  shall  be  a  President,  five 
Vice-Presidents,  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  annually.  There  shall  also  be 
an  Executive  Committee,  consisting  of  six  members, 
holding  office  for  three  years,  the  terms  of  two  of 
whom  shall  expire  each  year.  The  President,  the  Sec- 
retary, and  the  Treasurer  shall  be  ex-ofhcio  members 
of  the  Executive  Committee. 


Article  VIII. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  constitute  the  Com- 
mittee on  Admissions.  The  Committee  on  Admissions 
may  recommend  for  regular  membership,  by  unani- 
mous vote  of  its  members  present  at  any  meeting,  any 
person  who  is  qualified  under  the  foregoing  articles  of 
this  Constitution.  Candidates  thus  recommended  shall 
be  voted  on  by  the  Club  at  large.  Six  blackballs  shall 
exclude,  and  at  least  one-third  of  the  members  must 
vote  in  the  affirmative  to  elect. 

502 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

Article  IX. 

The  entrance  fee  for  regular  members  shall  be 
twenty-five  dollars.  The  annual  dues  of  regular  mem- 
bers shall  be  ten  dollars,  and  shall  be  payable  on 
February  1st  of  each  year.  Any  member  who  shall 
fail  to  pay  his  dues  on  or  before  August  1st  follow- 
ing shall  thereupon  cease  to  be  a  member  of  the  Club. 
But  the  Executive  Committee,  in  its  discretion,  shall 
have  power  to  reinstate  such  member. 

Article  X. 

The  use  of  steel  traps,  the  making  of  large  bags, 
the  killing  of  game  while  swimming  in  water,  or 
helpless  in  deep  snow,  and  the  unnecessary  killing  of 
the  females  or  young  of  any  species  of  ruminant,  shall 
be  deemed  offenses.  Any  member  who  shall  commit 
such  offenses  may  be  suspended,  or  expelled  from  the 
Club  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

Article  XL 

The  officers  of  the  Club  shall  be  elected  for  the  en- 
suing year  at  the  annual  meeting. 

Article  XII. 

This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  the  members  present  at  any  annual  meeting 
of  the  Club,  provided  that  notice  of  the  proposed 
amendment  shall  have  been  mailed,  by  the  Secretary, 
to  each  member  of  the  Club,  at  least  two  weeks  before 
said  meeting. 

503 


RULES  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

REGARDING  PROPOSALS  FOR 

MEMBERSHIP 

1.  Candidates  must  be  proposed  and  seconded  in 
writing  by  two  members  of  the  Club. 

2.  Letters  concerning  each  candidate  must  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  Executive  Committee  by  at  least  two 
members,  other  than  the  proposer  and  seconder. 

3.  No  candidate  for  regular  membership  shall  be 
proposed,   seconded  or  endorsed  by  any  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Admissions. 

Additional  information  as  to  the  admission  of  mem- 
bers may  be  found  in  Articles  III,  VI,  VIII  and  IX 
of  the  Constitution. 


504 


LIST   OF   MEMBERS 
OF  THE  BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB 


REGULAR  MEMBERS. 

COPLEY  AMORY,  41  Park  Row,  New  York 

JAMES  W.  APPLETON,  Knickerbocker  Club,  New  York 

ROBERT  BACON,  I  Park  Ave.,  New  York 

DANIEL  MOREAU  BARRINGER,  370  Bullitt  Bldg.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
LYMAN  M.  BASS,  558  Ellicott  Square  Bldg.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
FRANKLIN  S.  BILLINGS,  Woodstock,  Vt. 

GEORGE  BIRD,  Union  Club,  New  York 

ROBERT  PARKMAN  BLAKE,  Millis,  Mass. 

GEORGE  BLEISTEIN,  438  Delaware  Ave.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

WILLIAM  J.  BOARDMAN,  1801  P  St.,  N.W.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
WILLIAM  B.  BOGERT,  306  Postal  Telegraph  Bldg.,  Chicago,  111. 
ADMIRAL  WILLARD  H.  BROWNSON,  1751  N  St.,  N.  W., 

Washington,  D.  C 

EDWARD  F.  BURKE,  Maryland  Club,  Baltimore,  Md. 

JOHN  LAMBERT  CADWALADER,  40  Wall  St.,  New  York 

ROYAL  PHELPS  CARROLL,  319  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 

HON.  WILLIAM  ASTOR  CHANLER,  Knickerbocker  Club, 

New  York 

WINTHROP  CHANLER,  32  Liberty  St.,  New  York 

C.  ARTHUR  COMSTOCK,  40  Exchange  PI.,  New  York 

FRANK  C.  CROCKER,  Hill  City,  South  Dakota 

WILLIAM  REDMOND  CROSS,  33  Pine  St.,  New  York 

CHARLES  P.  CURTIS,  Ames  Building,  Boston,  Mass. 

DR.  PAUL  J.  DASHIELL,  U.S.  Naval  Academy,  Annapolis,  Md. 
MORGAN  DAVIS,  45  Wall  St.,  New  York 

SOS 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

CHAS.  STEWART  DAVISON,  University  Club,  New  York 

CHARLES  DEERING,  9  West  52d  St.,  New  York 

H.  CASIMIR  DE  RHAM,  960  Park  Ave.,  New  York 

WALTER  B.  DEVEREUX,  60  Broadway,  New  York 

BAYARD  DOMINICK,  JR.,  115  Broadway,  New  York 

DR.  WILLIAM  K.  DRAPER,  121  East  36th  St.,  New  York 

J.  COLEMAN  DRAYTON,  829  Park  Ave.,  New  York 

MAJOR  ROBERT  TEMPLE  EMMET,  Ashfield,  Mass. 

MAXWELL  EVARTS,  165  Broadway,  New  York 

ROBERT  H.  MUNRO-FERGUSON,  Cat  Canon, 

Silver  City,  New  Mexico 

JOHN  G.  FOLLANSBEE,  Union  Club,  New  York 

DR.  W.  H.  FURNESS,  30,  Wallingford,  Delaware  Co.,  Pa. 

DEFOREST  GRANT,  22  East  49th  St.,  New  York 

MADISON  GRANT,  22  East  49th  St.,  New  York 

HENRY  G.  GRAY,  49  Wall  St.,  New  York 

JOSEPH  C.  GREW,        Department  of  State,  Washington,  D.  G 
GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL,  238  East  i5th  St.,  New  York 

WILLIAM  MILNE  GRINNELL,  21  West  3ist  St.,  New  York 

ARNOLD  HAGUE,  1724  I  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

HOWARD  MELVILLE  HANNA,  747  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 

GEORGE  L.  HARRISON,  JR.,         400  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
JOHN  HOWLAND,  20  East  Eager  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

DR.  WALTER  B.  JAMES,  17  West  54th  St.,  New  York 

JAMES  HATHAWAY  KIDDER,  in  Broadway,  New  York 

C.  GRANT  LA  FARGE,  101  Park  Ave.,  New  York 

DR.  ALEXANDER  LAMBERT,  36  East  3ist  St.,  New  York 

TOWNSEND  LAWRENCE,  319  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 

EDWARD  HUBERT  LITCHFIELD,  44  Wall  St.,  New  York 

FRANK  LYMAN,  82  Wall  St.,  New  York 

GEORGE  H.  LYMAN,      351  Commonwealth  Ave.,  Boston,  Mass. 
THEODORE  LYMAN,  Heath  St.,  Brookline,  Mass. 

CHARLES  B.  MACDONALD,  71  Broadway,  New  York 

PERCY  C.  MADEIRA,  North  American  Building, 

Philadelphia,   Pa. 

COL.  HENRY  MAY,  1325  K  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DR.  JOHN  K.  MITCHELL,        1730  Spruce  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

506 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

DR.  LEWIS  RUTHERFURD  MORRIS,    155  W.  s8th  St.,  New  York 
DR.  PAUL  OUTERBRIDGE,  49  W.  74th  St.,  New  York 

HON.  BOIES  PENROSE,  U.  S.  Senate,  Washington,  D.  C. 

R.  A.  F.  PENROSE,  JR.,        460  Bullitt  Bldg,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
ROBERT  FORBES  PERKINS,  Framingham,  Mass. 

HENRY  CLAY  PIERCE,  15  East  57th  St.,  New  York 

JOHN  J.  PIERREPONT,  I  Pierrepont  PI.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

AMOS  R.  E.  PINCHOT,  60  Broadway,  New  York 

GIFFORD  PINCHOT,  1615  Rhode  Island  Ave.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
WILSON  POTTER,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

GEORGE  D.  PRATT,      Pratt  Institute,  Ryerson  St.,  Bklyn.,  N.Y. 
JOHN  HILL  PRENTICE,  23  East  6gth  St.,  New  York 

A.  PHIMISTER  PROCTOR,  168  East  5ist  St.,  New  York 

PERCY  RIVINGTON  PYNE,  680  Park  Ave.,  New  York 

DOUGLAS  ROBINSON,  9  East  63d  St.,  New  York 

ARCHIBALD  ROGERS,  Hyde  Park-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 

DR.  JOHN  ROGERS,  102  East  3Oth  St.,  New  York 

KERMIT  ROOSEVELT,        Brazil  Railway  Co.,  Sao  Paulo,  Brazil 
HON.  ELIHU  ROOT,  U.  S.  Senate,  Washington,  D.  C. 

BRONSON  RUMSEY,  676  Ellicott  Square,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

LAURENCE  D.  RUMSEY,         330  Delaware  Ave.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
ALDEN  SAMPSON,  Century  Club,  New  York 

DR.  LEONARD  C.  SANFORD,  347  Temple  St.,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
HON.  WILLIAM  CARY  SANGER,  Sangerfield,  N.  Y. 

DR.  JOHN  L.  SEWARD,  416  Main  St.,  Orange,  N.  J. 

CHARLES  SHELDON,  140  West  57th  St.,  New  York 

DR.  A.  DONALDSON  SMITH,  Kaolin,  Chester  Co.,  Pa. 

DR.  WILLIAM  LORD  SMITH,  9  Willow  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

FREDERICK  M.  STEPHENSON,  Chicago  Gub,  Chicago,  111. 

E.  LEROY  STEWART,  Fishkill-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 

HENRY  L.  STIMSON,  32  Liberty  St.,  New  York 

LEWIS  S.  THOMPSON,  Red  Bank,  N.  J. 

MAJOR  WILLIAM  AUSTIN  WADSWORTH,  Geneseo,  N.  Y. 

JAMES  SIBLEY  WATSON,  11  Prince  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

CASPAR  WHITNEY,  Lawrence  Park,  Bronxville,  N.  Y. 

WILLIAM  FITZHUGH  WHITEHOUSE,  319  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 
E.  P.  WILBUR,  JR.,  515  Delaware  Ave.,  South  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

507 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

GENERAL  ROGER  D.  WILLIAMS,  Lexington,  Ky. 

OWEN  WISTER,  1004  West  End  Trust  Bldg.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
J.  WALTER  WOOD,  31  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 

HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

DR.  DANIEL  GIRAUD  ELLIOT, 

American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York 
PROF.  HENRY  FAIRFIELD  OSBORN,  850  Madison  Ave.,  New  York 
COL.  WILLIAM  D.  PICKETT,  228  Campsie  PL,  Lexington,  Ky. 
HON.  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT,  Oyster  Bay,  N.  Y. 

ASSOCIATE  MEMBERS. 

DR.  WILLIAM  L.  ABBOTT,  Srinagar,  Kashmir,  India 

CARL  E.  AKELEY,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 

New  York 
LIEUT.-COL.  HENRY  T.  ALLEN,  War  Department, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
DR.  J.  A.  ALLEN,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 

New  York 

BRIG.-GEN.  GEORGE  S.  ANDERSON,  University  Club,  New  York 
LIEUT.-GEN.  JOHN  C.  BATES,  1313  Massachusetts  Ave.,  N.  W., 

Washington,  D  C. 

HON.  TRUXTON  BEALE,  28  Jackson  PL,  Washington,  D.  C. 
HON.  D.  C.  BEAMAN,  732  Equitable  Building,  Denver,  Colo. 
MAJOR  F.  A.  BOUTELLE,  335  Pioneer  Bldg.,  Seattle,  Wash. 
COL.  DAVID  L.  BRAINARD,  War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 
WILLIAM  B.  BRISTOW,  2  Rector  St.,  New  York 

EDWARD  NORTH  BUXTON,  Knighton,  Buckhurst  Hill, 

Essex,  England 

WILLIAM  B.  CABOT,  447  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

COL.  CHAS.  J.  CRANE,  gth  Infantry,  Fort  Thomas,  Ky. 

BRIG.-GEN.   WM.   E.   DOUGHERTY,  2887   East   i4th   St., 

Fruitvale,  Cal. 
LIEUT.- COL.  FRANK  A.  EDWARDS,  American  Legation, 

Berne,  Switzerland 

JOHN  STERETT  GITTINGS,  Ashburton,  Baltimore,  Md. 

508 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

GEORGE  H.  GOULD,  P.  O.  Box  275,  Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 

HENRY  S.  GRAVES,  U.  S.  Forest  Service,  Washington,  D.  C. 
MAJOR-GEN.  ADOLPHUS  W.  GREELY,  1914  G  St.,  N.  W., 

Washington,  D  C. 

DR.  RAMON  GUITERAS,  75  West  55th  St.,  New  York 

MAJOR  MOSES  HARRIS,  346  Broadway,  New  York 

HENRY  W.  HENSHAW,  Biological  Survey, 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DR.  WILLIAM  T.  HORNADAY,  N.  Y.  Zoological  Park,  N.  Y. 
HON.  W.  E.  HUMPHREY,  House  of  Representatives, 

Washington,  D  C. 

HON.  JOHN  F.  LACEY,  Oskaloosa,  Iowa 

COL.  OSMUN  LATROBE,  Metropolitan  Cub,  New  York 

HON.  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  Nahant,  Mass. 

A.  P.  Low,  Victoria  Memorial  Museum,  Ottawa,  Can. 

PROF.  JOHN  BACH  MAcM ASTER,  University  of  Pennsylvania, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

CAPT.  FRANK  R.  McCov,  War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DR.  C.  HART  MERRIAM,  1919  i6th  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

W.  B.  MERSHON,  Saginaw,  Mich. 

J.  CHESTON  MORRIS,  JR.,  Spring  House  P.  O., 

Montgomery  Co.,  Pa. 

E.  W.  NELSON,  U.  S.  Biological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C. 
HON.  FRANCIS  G.  NEWLANDS,  Senate  Chamber, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

HON.  FRANK  OLIVER,  191  Somerset  St.,  Ottawa,  Canad 

WILFRED  H.  OSGOOD,  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History, 

Chicago,  111. 

DR.  CHARLES  B.  PENROSE,  1720  Spruce  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
HON.  GEORGE  C.  PERKINS,  Vernon  Heights,  Oakland,  Cal. 
WARBURTON  PIKE.  Union  Club,  Victoria,  B.  C. 

MAJOR  JOHN  PITCHER,  Edgewater,  Md. 

HON.  W.  WOODVILLE  ROCK  HILL,  Litchfield,  Conn. 

JOHN  E.  ROOSEVELT,  46  Wall  St.,  New  York 

BRIG.-GEN.  HUGH  LENOX  SCOTT,  Fort  Bliss,  Texas 

FREDERICK  COURTNEY  SELOUS,  Heatherside, 

Worplesdon,  Surrey,  England 
509 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

HON.  GEORGE  SHIRAS,  30,  Stoneleigh  Court,  Washington,  D.  C 
DR.  CHARLES  H.  TOWNSEND,  N.  Y.  Aquarium,  New  York 
T.  S.  VAN  DYKE,  Daggett,  Cal. 

HON.  CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT,  1743  22d  St.,  N.  W., 

Washington,  D  C 

A.  BRYAN  WILLIAMS.  1170  Georgia  St.,  Vancouver,  B.  C. 
LiEUT.-CoL.  WILLIAM  WOOD,  59  Grande  Alice,  Quebec,  Can, 
LIEUT.-GEN.  S.  B.  M.  YOUNG,  Soldiers'  Home, 

Washington,  D.  C, 


DECEASED     MEMBERS. 

REGULAR. 

GEN.  THOMAS  H.  BARBER. 

ALBERT  BIERSTADT. 

HON.   BENJAMIN  H.   BRISTOW. 

ARTHUR  ERWIN  BROWN. 

H.  A.  CAREY. 

E.  W.  DAVIS. 

COL.  RICHARD  IRVING  DODGE. 

JAMES  T.  GARDINER. 

JOHN  G.  HECKSCHER. 

COL.  H.  C.  MCDOWELL. 

MAJOR  J.   C.   MERRILL. 

DR.  WILLIAM  H.  MERRILL. 

HENRY  NORCROSS  MUNN. 

LYMAN   NICHOLS. 

JAMES  S.   NORTON. 

THOMAS  PATON. 

WILLIAM  HALLETT  PHILLIPS. 

BENJAMIN  W.  RICHARDS. 

E.  P.  ROGERS. 

NATHANIEL  PENDLETON  ROGERS. 

ELLIOTT  ROOSEVELT. 

DR.  J.  WEST  ROOSEVELT. 

DEAN  SAGE. 


The  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

PHILIP  SCHUYLER. 

M.  G.  SECKENDORPF. 

HON.  CHARLES  F.  SPRAGUE, 

RUTHERFURD   STUYVESANT. 

FRANK  THOMSON. 
HON.  W.  K.  TOWNSEND. 
MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  D.  WHIPPLE. 
CHARLES  E.  WHITEHEAD. 
ROBERT  DUDLEY  WINTHROP. 

ASSOCIATE. 

HON.  EDWARD  F.  BEALE. 
MAJOR  CAMPBELL  BROWN. 
COL.  JOHN  MASON  BROWN. 
WILLIAM  L.  BUCHANAN. 
D.  H.  BURNHAM. 
SENATOR  THOMAS  H.  CARTER. 

A.  P.  GORDON-CUMMING. 
HON.  WADE  HAMPTON. 
MAJ.-GEN.  W.  H.  JACKSON. 
CAPTAIN  DAVID  H.  JARVIS. 
CLARENCE  KING. 

HON.  JOHN  W.  NOBLE. 
HON.  REDFIELD  PROCTOR. 
HON.  THOMAS  B.  REED. 
HON.  CARL  SCHURZ. 

B.  C.  TILGHMAN. 
HON.  G.  G.  VEST. 
SAMUEL  D.  WARREN. 

HONORARY. 

JUDGE  JOHN  D.  CATON. 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN. 

GEN.  PHILIP  SHERIDAN. 

GEN.  WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN. 

5" 


